Program Migration

Migration of programs away from the Elkhorn Valley Campus to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency of the delivery of education results in a net “gain” of space that can be renovated for development of future programs. MCC can retrofit an additional 10,500 gross square feet (gsf ) at the Elkhorn Valley Campus for classroom space by moving the Architectural Drafting, Civil Engineering and Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating Technology(HVAC/R) programs to the Fort Omaha Campus, to be collocated with similar construction-related Applied Technology programs. Facilities Management should be relocated to a new building on campus so that MCC can retrofit the 14,000 gsf of expansion space to classroom space, bringing the total future space needed after the migration of programs to 95,500 gsf.

Elkhorn Valley as an Opportunity for Growth

Immediate investment in the Elkhorn Valley Campus is essential to ensure that MCC can capitalize on future development anticipated adjacent to the campus. The area will continue to grow, and MCC must be prepared to welcome prospective students to a 21st century learning environment. Additional regional assets, including an 80-acre City regional park directly east of the campus, will provide opportunities for shared recreation and a potential partnership opportunity for the City and MCC to develop a parkway that will link the campus at North 204th Street with the newly constructed Methodist Women’s Hospital at North 192nd Street. A bridge over a small segment of the proposed 60-acre lake, which is part of the regional park plan, is essential to the development of this parkway.

Additional opportunities to connect the campus to the Elkhorn community were considered during the Master Plan Update planning process, including a partnership with the City to develop a shared library and a possible transit connection to downtown Elkhorn 1½ miles away, The Elkhorn Valley Campus has the potential to become a gateway to Omaha as one of the westernmost iconic features along West Dodge Road. The campus currently turns its back to both North 204th Street and West Dodge Road. Future development should address the opportunity to gain more visibility from these two adjacent roads that carry a significant amount of traffic.

Existing surrounding land uses that will support future development include retail and light industrial west of North 204th Street, single-family residential in all directions, and a public high school to the north. Circulation at the Elkhorn Valley Campus is dominated by the automobile. The campus is served by two large surface parking lots. The Main Lot is adjacent to the Elkhorn Valley Campus building, and the Lower Lot is southeast of the Main Lot and is separated from the Main Lot by the entry drive. These two lots provide a combined total of 900 parking spaces(2009). In general, automobile routes are separated from pedestrian routes with considerable success; however, pedestrian/vehicular conflicts do occur between the Lower Lot and the building, and adjacent to the service and loading dock on the southeast side of the building.

Space Needs Analysis

The Elkhorn Valley Campus building is approaching capacity from a utilization perspective. With enrollments expecting to increase by 35% over the 10-year plan horizon, the building will no longer be able to serve the needs of all students. The space needs analysis outlined an overall deficit of approximately 38,000 asf (60,000gross square feet) of space at the 2009 fall base year. As the Elkhorn Valley Campus grows over the 10-year plan horizon, the space needs analysis projects that the campus will have a 75,000 asf (120,000 gross square feet) deficit in space including unfinished expansion space currently used by Facilities Management.