A little more than a year after voters approved a $420 million bond proposal by the Lone Star College System, System administrators are announcing several of the projects planned for the money.

At the Sept. 9 meeting of the Tomball Rotary Club, Lone Star College-Tomball President Dr. Susan Karr revealed design sketches and details of the three new College System buildings expected to be constructed in Tomball over the next two years.

As promised in the Bond 2008 proposal, Lone Star College-Tomball will increase its services to students with the construction of a performing arts building, a health science building and expansion of the vet-tech program.

Above, an artists’ rendering of the proposed 30,000-square foot performing arts building to be constructed on the campus of Lone Star College-Tomball in the spring.

Submitted Photo

According to Karr, construction on each of the projects is expected to begin in the spring of 2010 with a scheduled completion date of summer 2011.

The 30,000-square foot performing arts center will feature an instructional theater capable of housing performances, plays, theatrical productions, musicals, recitals and lectures. The facility will also include a fully rigged stage, orchestra pit and seating for 425.

The performing arts building is set to be constructed on the large open space near the community library on the south side of the campus.

The health science building is expected to be built on Medical Complex Drive near Tomball Regional Hospital. The 60,000-square foot building will include three lab components, including a nursing lab, simulation lab and surgical technology lab.

According to information published by Lone Star College, the nursing lab will consist of a hospital ward, a medication area, an isolation room, a classroom and demonstration area and a large storage area. The simulation lab will be comprised of a hospital room, a separate control room and an observation room. The surgical lab will feature an operating room, pre-op room, instrument processing rooms and a classroom.

The vet-tech expansion is also expected to be constructed on the Lone Star College-Tomball campus and will cover 20,000 square feet. The facility will provide an x-ray room, two teaching labs, five classrooms, a 120-seat auditorium, 12 dog runs and housing for cats, birds, reptiles and other small mammals.

Karr explained that the expansion of the vet-tech center will allow the program to admit more students than it currently does.

The total cost for the three projects, Karr said, is expected to be $38 million.

In June, the College System announced the purchase of the former Hewlett Packard Campus on SH 249 to be the home of its newest four-year college programs, similar to the University Center in The Woodlands.

LSC paid approximately $46.2 million for five eight-story buildings covering approximately 1.2 million square feet, since re-named University Park. Karr said LSC expects to offer four-year degrees from at least five major Texas universities.

Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, Sam Houston State University, the University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown and Texas Southern University all currently offer four-year degrees at the University Center.

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