A crane and the structure of the E building are at the construction site for the new building on May 13. This hub of student life is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, and more projects are coming to LBCC. (Alejandro Diaz Lopez)
Many new buildings and construction projects are coming to LBCC’s Liberal Arts Campus, including a student housing project that is expected to start construction in July and the new E building which is currently in the works.
The new E building is expected to finish construction in the fall semester of 2027, while the first housing project out of three planned has an expected opening date of the fall semester of 2028.
Planned to be located at the intersection of Clark and E Lew Davis St., the first housing project is being developed with the hope of “revitalizing” the overlooked edge of campus where it will be located and to be the “home away from home at Long Beach City College,” according to a promotional video shown at a workshop for facilities on May 7.
The max capacity is planned to be large, with 446 beds as confirmed by Maria Williams-Slaughter, the deputy director of operations and maintenance at LBCC.
Services planned to be in this housing project, include a laundry mat, a grab and go cafe, outdoor patios for studying and even a park designated for students to walk their pets.
These facilities are organized in such a way to be available for any student, regardless of their schedule.
“Some students take night classes, work at night and some people may need access during the nighttime, it’s a thing we’ve got to work out but yeah, it’ll soon be a 24/7 campus,” said Brian Shields, a manager of campus facilities specifically for the maintenance department.
It is currently unknown how much these housing services will cost, however Williams-Slaughter has confirmed they will not be free. She did say, however, that they will be “affordable and subsidized compared to other student housing costs.”
Coming right off the heels of the last large development with the new G building, construction of the new ‘E’ building is underway which is replacing the previous one that got demolished recently in the fall.
This new development will be a three-story “hub” for students at LBCC.
“(The building) will have counseling and student services, food service and some shared cultural affinity spaces. Sort of things like that, and then on the third floor it’s going to have conference and meeting spaces in an indoor and outdoor patio area,” said associate vice-president of facilities Jeff Connell, who oversees most of the construction projects on campus.
The new E building, which is depicted on May 13, is currently in construction and will be three stories high. (Alejandro Diaz Lopez)
Services offered at the current A building such as counseling, the cashier’s office and student affairs will be moved to the new E building once construction is complete.
Student life areas that reside in the B building such as the student lounge, ASB room and the Social Justice Intercultural Center, will be moved there as well.
In the near future, LBCC can also expect two additional housing projects, as they are currently in the planning and designing stages.
One structure will be across the street from the first project near the datacenter “Frontier Communication,” where additional housing will be provided
The third is planned to be located in North Long Beach next to the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library.
This third location will differ from the two previous projects as the housing will not be dorms, but instead be independent apartments “which are planned especially for student parents,” said Williams-Slaughter.
Facility management has been in communication with Long Beach Transit in aims to create more routes from the North Long Beach area to the school’s Liberal Arts Campus to accommodate students housed there.
These two housing projects currently don’t have an estimated time frame of completion, however they are planned to be done “in the next 5 years” according to Connell.
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