Special to Journal Tribune

WELLS — As the sun broke through the clouds Wednesday morning, shovels broke ground on the York County Community College campus.

The groundbreaking ceremony was for a new 18,000- square-foot building that will house eight classrooms, a learning lab, offices, a student common room and a 140-seat auditorium style space that will double as a lecture hall.

The expansion will bring some much-needed breathing room for a college that’s “bursting at the seams,” said Stacy Chilicki, director of marketing and public relations for YCCC.

Chilicki said YCCC’s current building, built in 1995, was only meant to accommodate about 1,100 students, but the current enrollment numbers are over 1,700. YCCC has been utilizing online classes and “creative scheduling” to make those numbers work, but a new building will relieve much of the pressure.

About 100 people attended the ceremony, including representatives from Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King’s offices, the Wells Chamber of Commerce and project partners Hannaford Charitable Foundation, SIS Bank, Wasco Products and Pratt & Whitney.

Many others also attended, including YCCC Foundation Trustees, Wells Police Chief Joanne Putnam, YCCC President Barbara Finkelstein, Central Maine Community College President Scott Knapp and President of the Foundation for Maine Community College System Jane Phillips.

The emphasis was put on community, with Derek Langhauser, president of the Community College System, saying that a project like YCCC’s new building “doesn’t happen without this broadbase community support.”

“I see the impact that our colleges have on their communities and all of the outreach that comes from the communities to the colleges,” said Langhauser. “You couldn’t ask for a better example than what it is you’re seeing here today.”

Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Mark Eves said he was “proud to be from this community” that placed so much emphasis on education, and called the project an example to the rest of the state.

“This project is a long time overdue, a long time coming, and it’s here because of the partnerships – not just with the state government and community colleges, but with all the funders that are here today and all the community partners,” said Eves. “When I think of this, the symbol that this building is going to represent, it’s not just the opportunity for students … but the partnerships in this community and what it took to come together to fully fund this.”

The state provided about 40 percent of the funding for the new building, Eves said. The projected cost of the building is currently at $8.4 million.

Marc Brunelle, chairperson of the YCCC Foundation, a major funder of YCCC via private donations, said the new building is a “milestone in York Community College history, and I should say, future.”

“This is such an important building because it’s going to enhance the educational experience for all our students,” said Brunelle. “But I also hope, especially with the auditorium, I hope that there’s more connectivity with the local community, the town of Wells, and all the inhabitants. I really look forward to this building actually creating a tipping point for us in this college.”

Construction of extra parking to accommodate the expected increase in on-campus students has already begun, and the new building is slated to be finished by fall 2017.

Tentatively there will be live feed of the construction, once it starts, on YCCC’s website.