FVCC poised to open new library this spring

Flathead Valley Community College’s two-phase ONE Campaign is surging ahead, with the first phase — a new library and learning commons — nearly complete and set to open later this spring.

When finished, the $3 million library will add another 12,000 square feet onto the Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Health Science. The space will include a large seating and study area with a coffee bar, a quiet study area, multipurpose meeting/classrooms, small study areas, virtual reality learning lab, support service, maker space and the Language Arts Lab.

The campaign was less than $1 million away from its total goal of $18 million as of April 1, according to FVCC President Jane Karas.

Upon the completion of phase one, the campaign will proceed with phase two, opening up the bid for a new $15 million College Center this fall. It will include a grand performance hall, an outdoor amphitheater, a multipurpose activity center, an art gallery, a reception/meeting area, locker rooms and restrooms.

The 50,000-square-foot College Center will stand between the Arts and Technology Building and the Early Childhood Center on the FVCC campus.

Fundraising continues for the College Center through a new “Be Seated” campaign, which will allow contributors to have seats in the performance hall named for a $5,000 donation. A total of 140 seats have been named to date, Karas said.

A secondary campaign, titled “Be Noticed,” offers donors the opportunity to have their business names displayed in the multipurpose/activity center for $50,000, which can be paid in one year or with 10 payments of $5,000 a year.

Large contributors to the school’s ONE Campaign include families and individuals connected with FVCC and the community, including the Hollensteiners, the Broussard family, Paul Wachholz, Al and Lisa Stinson and others.

“The support from our community members has been overwhelming and affirms that these facilities will meet the needs of our students and the community now and into the future,” Karas said.

For more information on the ONE Campaign or to make a donation, visit https://www.fvcc.edu/p/one-campaign/

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.