Four years after the 2022 San Mateo County Community College District Facilities Master Plan, the state-supported renovation project for Building 2 will finally finish up.
SMCCCD Executive Director of Community and Government Relations David McLain said he aims for completion by April or May, with departments and classes moving in by June.
The original time frame was eight to 12 months, later being delayed by a year.
“This complex modernization project has encountered several challenges affecting the projected completion date,” McLain said. “Added scope requirements, unforeseen site conditions, and significant supply chain disruptions, including material acquisition delays from tariffs and current shortages.”
The district estimates that construction will cost $68.5 million in total. Several additions to the building’s infrastructure will integrate modern technology to its older facilities.
“Building 2 represents a … focus on student-centered design, technology integration and flexible learning and service environments,” McLain said. “It is designed to better align with current student needs and evolving workforce demands.”
Some of the programs include counseling, financial aid, the Veterans Resource Center and the Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Development division.
McLain said these programs will have access to “enhanced technology integration building-wide,” improving in-person and online services, as well as a potential “AI innovation hub.”
Administrators, such as in the workforce development division, are already working in conjunction with the move-in date and say they are “excited” for what the new building will entail.
Lindsey Ayotte, the division’s acting dean, said she is moving in this summer and has high expectations of what’s to come.
“It (Building 2) really is like a space for meeting and gathering,” Ayotte said. “It’s where the lifeline for all of our student resources are going to be housed, … this is centrally located. It’s going to be super busy, like there’s life and a pulse back in the main hub of campus.”
The building relocates commonly used resources from Building 19, out on the outskirts of campus.
Skyline student Anthony Diaz said he looks forward to resources moving to Building 2.
“There’s a lot of things in Building 19, which is good in some senses, but also very inconvenient in other senses,” Diaz said. “(Having) a much larger building is good for everyone in that sense.”
This is just the first of many building modernization projects detailed in the master plan, which involves other buildings such as Buildings 1 and 5, a brand new kinesiology and wellness building and potential on-campus student housing.
Editors Correction: SMCCCD Executive Director of Community and Government Relations name is spelled David McLain, not McClain. 01/03/26
