ELY –Following years of planning, a housing project at Vermilion Community College is now a reality. A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony was held last Friday marking the beginning of construction of the new 120-bed residence called Timber Ridge.

Dignitaries, including school officials and state lawmakers, celebrated the new $5.5 million complex, that will feature four townhouse units in a 26,000 square-foot complex, that will go up near the current residence hall on the east side of the VCC campus.

Construction is expected to take about a year and the new housing should be ready for students at the start of the 2017-2018 school year. The new housing will replace an outdated 84-bed cluster of duplexes located nearby, resulting in a net gain of 36 beds for students.

Most students who attend VCC come from all over Minnesota as well as adjacent states. “It is critical for us to have housing where prospective students can envision that being their home for a year or two,” said Bill Maki, president of the Northeast Higher Education District in his opening remarks.

A large amount of vision and planning was necessary to get to the start of construction for the project. “It started with listening to our students,” Maki said, referring to their involvement in designing the housing units. “Just about all of them who were involved in this project are likely never to live in these units, but their advice, guidance and support along the way was critical for all of this to become a reality,” he said.

VCC Provost Shawn Bina endured many highs and lows involving the housing project. “The reality is, this project was built on the shoulders of those who came before me,” Bina said. Back in 2007, under then Provost Sue Collins, the growth and update of the campus housing plan was identified as a long-term goal, he said.

Initial plans for the project were drawn up in 2012. “Soon after that, we learned that pursuing general obligation bonding, which is how most academic buildings are funded, was not possible for a housing project,” Bina said.

Area legislators, Minnesota state college officials, and city of Ely officials all came together to brainstorm a path to funding for the project. “Four years after that initial meeting, we stand here today ready to celebrate today’s groundbreaking,” he said. “This project has been a labor of love for our college and one that was riddled with numerous twists and turns along the way.”

When construction bids for the project were opened the first time, in anticipation of starting the construction last year, the project was some $2 million over budget. “It’s safe to say that was our greatest setback,” Bina said. “But the design team rebounded, doubled their efforts and found a new path forward.” The project was slashed by 20 percent, essentially eliminating one building in the original five-building complex.

The St. Paul-based architectural firm, Rafferty Rafferty Tollefson Lindeke Architects designed the project. “Personally, all of us here at VCC know that you have been more than the principal architect on this project, you have been an invested partner and a great friend,” Bina said. He also thanked the college design team for their work on the project, as well as many behind-the-scenes participants.

State Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, who has experience as a union carpenter, said he looks at the VCC housing project a bit differently. He thanked the general contractor, Kraus-Anderson Construction, of Bemidji, for making sure local trades workers are involved in the project and to give them the opportunity to work and to return to their own homes at night. “Not all trades people get that,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to travel and live away from home. When there is a job right here in this community, it is really important that they get the chance to work on it and contractors don’t bring people from somewhere else while you sit home.”

MNSCU Trustee Tom Renier said the VCC housing project “is a reality because legislative leaders made this project a priority.” He talked about the project demonstrating a commitment that all Minnesotans make to higher education.

“VCC is unique for many reason,” he said. “First, in addition to a strong liberal arts program, the college offers programs that are intimately connected with this region’s environment. Second, an impressive 90 percent of VCC’s students are full-time. That’s not typical for two-year colleges. Third, this college has an incredible geographic reach. Students come to Ely for an education from an astonishing number of Minnesota high schools, more than 200. These things make these residences absolutely necessary.”