Dozens of Austin Community College District (ACC) employees from the Riverside Campus joined College leadership for a tour of the newly purchased Southeast Travis County (SETC) property in early May.
Learn more about the purchase here.
After taking a chartered bus from Riverside to the Bergstrom Tech Center, employees split into four groups, each led by members of the College leadership team. They walked through portions of the two buildings to help imagine the possibilities for what will become the College’s second-largest campus.
Employees expressed excitement about the available storage space, breakroom areas, ample parking—some of it covered—as well as the child care center. There are also two gyms on-site that the College hopes to maintain.
The College asked Elizabeth Warren, ACC Veterinary Clinical Assistant Continuing Education Program Coordinator, to share her thoughts:
“The new SETC campus is stunning, with spacious, light-filled interiors and many outdoor spaces for quiet time or a game of disc golf. It has all the makings of a true destination campus, where students and staff could spend the day with everything they need on-site. I look forward to seeing a close, complementary relationship develop between this campus and Riverside, perhaps even connected by a campus shuttle. However the final details take shape, this is a big win for ACC that will uniquely serve our trades and infrastructure students with room to expand into areas yet unimagined.”
What’s Next
The SETC campus is an opportunity for the College to expand access and create new opportunities for students in Austin, Central Texas, and the surrounding region more quickly and at a lower cost. It gives ACC the ability to meet growing student, workforce, and community needs while being thoughtful stewards of public resources. It also positions the College to better serve students and communities in a part of the region where access to higher education, workforce training, and student support will be increasingly important.
The next steps for SETC include continuing to work with the various departments and programs identified in the Facilities Master Plan. These teams will work closely with Facilities and other areas of the College to determine how spaces should be built out to meet the needs of programs, students, faculty, staff, and the broader community.
At the same time, the Chancellor, the Chancellor’s Office, and the Office of Government Affairs have held initial meetings with external community members and city leaders regarding the future of Riverside. The College will continue future conversations with the Riverside community and other stakeholders as planning moves forward for both Riverside and SETC. Additional information will be shared through future campus conversations at Riverside and through Collegewide Chancellor town halls.
View a slideshow of photos from the SETC tour below.
