Wharton County Junior College is undertaking several projects this summer across its
different campus locations, including exterior and interior repairs at the Richmond
campus.
WHARTON, TEXAS – Wharton County Junior College visitors, employees and students will
soon notice a variety of different renovations and improvements across the college’s
various campuses.
The projects are designed to improve student experience while repairing important
structural issues. WCJC’s Facilities Management Advisor Mike Feyen recently shared
important updates regarding the following projects:
New Student Center — WCJC plans to build a completely new student center that will offer more modern
and user-friendly benefits for students and staff. Plans are to demolish the existing
Hutchins building as this new center will act as a combination of the two older buildings.
Features in the new construction will include the creation of a new kitchen and service
area that will offer state-of-the-art features such as a new servery, an updated grill,
modern dishwashing equipment, an expanded snack bar and a coffee bar. The 16,000-square-foot
building will also include an updated book store, an improved cafeteria and an expanded
student lounge. The WCJC Foundation is also expected to be housed in the new facility.
WCJC has hired I Kitchen Concepts as consultant for this upcoming project and have
also acquired the services of Abel Design Group to help with design concepts. The
estimated cost is around $6 million. Construction is anticipated to begin in early
2026.
Foundation Repair at the Richmond Campus — WCJC has acquired the services of Horizon International Group to oversee foundation
repairs at the Richmond campus. The project includes the removal and replacement of
exterior sealant joints, exterior window maintenance and replacements, the lifting
and stabilization of the building, the addition of helical piles to the interior and
exterior of the building, and general interior repairs and finishes. The interior
repairs include new flooring, repairing sheetrock after the lifting of the building,
repairing the ceiling grid, repairing doors and frames in the building and finally
repainting areas where new sheetrock has been added. Additional work is also being
done on a new exterior area drainage system. The interior part of the project is roughly
99 percent complete, while the exterior portions are ongoing. Total project cost is
around $950,000
Exterior work at the Bay City campus — The Bay City campus is currently undergoing repairs to damaged stucco on the exterior
side of the main building. This project is under the auspices of the Bay City Community
Development Corp. and is on schedule to be completed soon.
