By George Gee
With shovels in hand, the Ocean County College Board of Trustees broke ground on a new $19 million student center for the Toms River campus Monday.
Citing an aging building that did not fully address the needs of its current student population, the board approved a new student center and broke ground on the project in a special ceremony attended by trustees, students, alumni and staff.
The new student center will sit next to the current one, which is a one-story building that houses the cafeteria, its dining area, a student lounge and some staff and student organization office space. In comparison, the new student center will be two-stories high and expand the space for many of the services in the old student center.
According to OCC President Jon Larsen, the project will do much to enhance the space students interact. Often seating is full during break times and a new student center will better accommodate the current student population.
At 56,000 square feet, the new student center will include a coffee bar, study areas, and game rooms in addition to a larger cafeteria and student lounges.
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