In collaboration with the city of Long Beach, the college has opened its first satellite campus in North Long Beach.
The North Long Beach Higher Education Center is a campus meant to “bridge the digital divide” between students who wish to attend LBCC, but live too far from campus to commute every day, according to trustee Uduak-Joe Ntuk.
The center hopes to help LBCC students who live too far from campus. (Andrea Lawrence)
What was once a dingy, dilapidated building, not even built to support Wi-Fi, has now become a resource for the north Long Beach community.
The center opening also coincides with the city’s recent efforts to revitalize north Long Beach, hoping to rebrand it as Uptown.
“We have always known what north Long Beach has to offer, we just want this corridor to reflect what we already know,” said councilwoman Joni Ricks-Oddie.
The center was originally slated to open in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. It only opened early 2024 after many setbacks.
Originally, the planning committee for the center faced hurdles with an insufficient budget as well as investors.
Leased by the city, the center is then subleased and staffed by the college, ensuring that staff are able to assist anyone who walks through their doors with their academic or career goals.
Alongside a computer lab open to any LBCC students and local residents, the center offers career and education assistance through free, non-credit business and English second language courses.
Trustee Ntuk also announced the continuation of LBCC’s plan to build student housing in collaboration with the city.
Similarly to the center, the housing lot will be leased from the city, with the college subleasing it and setting up students in town homes near the North Long Beach Campus.
The housing program will seek to provide more affordable and convenient housing for students, giving them easy access to the Michelle Obama public library.
“(This center) is a great collaboration between two government entities,” said city Mayor Rex Richardson.
Those interested in getting counseling or registration services can go to www.lbcc.edu/northlb to make an appointment or view the center’s event calendar.