College of the Desert completes purchase of Palm Springs Mall site for new campus
The College of the Desert is expanding westward. Today, the Desert Community College District (DCCD) Board of Trustees announced that the College had completed the purchase of the Palm Springs Mall, which will serve as the site for the College’s new west valley campus.
“Long ago, the district made a promise to west valley residents to provide a campus closer to where students live and work,” District Board President Becky Broughton said. “We are excited today to move the permanent Palm Springs campus one step closer to reality.”
The College of the Desert’s new campus is expected to open “as early as 2021,” after the “first phase of construction” is completed, according to a College of the Desert news release.COD officials have long touted the benefits a Palm Springs campus could offer students graduating from high schools in the western Coachella Valley.
“This location for the Palm Springs campus will help us continue to meet the educational demands of tomorrow’s students and produce the highly skilled workforce that is the engine of our economy,” College of the Desert Superintendent and President Joel L. Kinnamon said. “The unique partnership opportunities available to us in Palm Springs align perfectly with the four educational/workforce pillars planned there.”
The budget for the new campus project is listed at $240 million.
In January, College of the Desert opened an 11-classroom temporary campus to serve 300 students in Palm Springs.
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