Trinidad State will soon have a new wing featuring state-of-the art classrooms at its Alamosa campus.

It's been a long time coming . The first request for an expansion was submitted to the State of Colorado in 2007. It was 2013 before $1.5 million was appropriated . The addition has been under construction for most of the year. When completed by Alcon Construction it will encompass 6,700 square feet on two floors at the corner of Fourth Street and Bell Avenue.

On the second floor two science labs equipped with the latest technology are separated by a lab prep room where experiments will be prepared for biology, chemistry and physics classes. A utility controller called ISIMET can be used to immediately shut down water, natural gas, and/or HVAC in case of an emergency. Also, an acid waste system separates acid from the waste water system.

"This really allows us to be at the cutting edge of science education to support programs like our nursing program that relies heavily on those background pre-requisite courses," said Trinidad State President Dr. Carmen Simone. "This will give us more equipment so that more students can work on the same kinds of experiments at the same time." "The building came about based on a shortage of up to-date lab technology and classroom space," said Josh Jones, head of maintenance at the Trinidad State Valley campus. "We had a student load our facilities could not accommodate."

Restrooms are located on the first floor along with one large room which can be divided into two classrooms using a moveable partition. In addition to classes, this large space will also be used as a multipurpose room.

"We desperately needed a larger gathering space on campus where everyone can come and work on projects together. And it's also something the community will be able to utilize and that's something I'm excited about," said Dr. Simone.

"We were really excited that we were able to award the contract to Alcon Construction , a local company," Jones said. "That was important to us. And the subcontractors such as electricians, plumbers and painters are local as well. This created jobs for Valley residents. I've been extremely pleased with Alcon. They have been really great to work with. We wanted as much quality as possible with the budget we had to work with. Every step of the way they have looked at every conceivable plan that could save us money and make it possible for us to do the things we really need to do."

No fall semester classes are scheduled on the second floor in case of unforeseen delays. The first floor will likely see use in the next few weeks.

With community college tuition costing approximately 40 percent less than that of four-year colleges and universities, this new addition will make it even more inviting to begin at Trinidad State and then transfer from there.