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This semester Middlesex Community College opened a dramatically renovated building at its Lowell Campus. Directly across the street from the main Lowell building, this new building contains classrooms, faculty offices and a spectacular library. The 1930 Federal Building formerly housed the central Post Office as well as other federal offices. The lobby is an impressive combination of white marble walls, patterned marble floors and polished bronze door and window trim. Despite its traditional architecture, the building has undergone $11million in renovations bringing all the systems up to 21st century standards. All the areas&emdash;classrooms, faculty offices and the library&emdash;are wired for high speed networking. Acquired by the college in 1996 for $1 after protracted negotiations with the federal government, it took another seven years to bring the project to completion. The state paid for two-thirds of the renovation costs, and the college funded the rest. The college has experienced a 40 percent growth in enrollments over the last five years, and its downtown Lowell campus has been severely stressed to house the students in a congested urban area. Ken Dunn, Middlesex Chapter President, said "Faculty and staff are pleased to have this terrific new facility on line to serve our students. The creative adaptation of 1930's architectural features to our current building needs was successfully accomplished." 
Exterior view of Middlesex CC's Federal Building
The marble interior of the new Middlesex Federal Building |
