The $45 million project includes additions and renovations to Lafayette Hall, and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2017.
Speakers at Thursday's groundbreaking included Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, HCC President Paul Broadie II, and Mark E. Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State College and University system. The event was also attended by a crowd of students, staff and faculty.
The four-story addition will encompass over 47,000 square feet of space, which will include a new student services center, science labs, classrooms, library space and two floors of new art studios and classrooms. The expansion will allow Housatonic Community College to grow from about 5,000 students to 8,000.
In 1997, Housatonic Community College moved to its current downtown location, a former downtown shopping mall.
Housatonic Community College draws students from Fairfield County, New Haven County and the Valley.
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