Neary-Sighted

Some folks are very quiet and don't go out much. No problem with that; I used to be that way. But if you do go out in Lakewood at all - to festivals, to talks, to Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, or other such events - you are going to end up at the McGavick Student Center at Clover Park Technical College at one time or another. So here's an early look to compliment today's account in The Suburban Times.

The McGavick Student Center opened yesterday, and, just by reason of size alone, promises to replace the Clover Park High School auditorium as a major community gathering spot. (It may also replace gathering spots at Pierce College, for now, though that campus also has construction plans including opening a new health education center)

The center has four storefronts for the retail and student business programs, as well as a huge conference center that will seat more than 1,000. While the college's first priority is providing a place for students to learn, the dividable conference space has the giant projection screens that today's business audiences demand for major meetings.

Because state government is leery about paying for student centers, as opposed to classrooms, the college knitted together a bunch of funding partners. Those include the students themselves, who agreed to pay for the building as part of their studies. The city of Lakewood gets money from a tax on hotel rooms, and must spend the money to promote tourism. So the city bought a share of the building, in order to host major gatherings without further charges.

So let's just show a few more photos.


I also shot some video at that event, but I need to get cracking in order to get to the Safe Streets lunch in downtown Tacoma in 45 minutes. I will post a couple of videos later.

And later on Wednesday ...

Here are some videos. First, a panorama of the central area.


College President Dr. John Walstrum made several comments about how the building will be valuable to both students and teachers. Here are some comments about the value of the building in terms of economic development and bringing people to Lakewood:

And here's a panorama of the inside of the conference center; it may remind you of one I posted awhile back when the building was under construction. Sure looks nicer now!

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