Breaking Ground on Madras Campus Growth

June 24, 2024

Central Oregon Community College broke ground on its Madras campus expansion on June 17 and announced that the board of directors had authorized a contract with Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, with a guaranteed maximum price of $18,253,250. Completion of the transformative project is expected by winter of 2025.

The board of directors also approved the sale of the former Miller lumberyard in Madras — donated to COCC by members of the Miller family to raise funds for the expansion — to Jefferson County, with the property to be redesigned as a community food pantry. Sold for $375,000, the 40,000-square-foot lot had an appraised value of $410,000.

“This is a great outcome that impacts the future and well-being of Jefferson County on multiple levels,” said Laurie Chesley, president of COCC, “moving our Madras campus expansion closer to its goal while supporting a vital food bank in the community. None of this would have been possible without the partnership and generosity of the Miller family, and their gift will go on to improve many lives for current and future generations.”

The expansion of the Madras campus, being designed by Opsis Architecture, is a response to Jefferson County’s needs related to early childhood education and health care workforce gaps, along with a major shortage of child care options in the region. The plan calls for a 24,000-square-foot building, designed specifically for early childhood education programs, registered nurse and other health career pathways, and a 100-capacity child care center.

It’s an investment that will have a profound impact on the people and economic well-being of Jefferson County, bringing new careers and opportunities, and making for a stronger Central Oregon overall.

“We at KNCC are thrilled to continue our longstanding partnership with COCC and bring this expansion of the Madras campus into being,” said Jason Terry, president of Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company.

The Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company was contracted to build the original COCC Madras campus building, in 2011, along with the Coats Campus Center, Middleton Science Center and Barber Library on the Bend campus, the Technology Education Center on the Redmond campus, and other college projects.

The current contract resulted from a bidding process that began in November of 2022. The full cost of the project is currently estimated at $22,253,586, with funding for the “Growing Together” capital campaign coming from a mix of federal, state and institutional resources, as well as grant support and private donations.

Image (L to R): Board members Alan Unger, Erin Foote Morgan and Joe Krenowicz (chair), COCC president Laurie Chesley, and board members Erica Skatvold and Erin Merz.