Houston Community College celebrated the placement of the last bits of upper framework of the main building for its new 24-acre campus at 22910 Colonial Parkway in Katy, near Katy Asian Town. The event celebrating the construction of the project and HCC’s partnership in the area with the University of Houston was attended by HCC and UH staff as well as Katy City Council members and other local officials.

“I believe that an education is so important and is the means to a better way of life,” said Katy City Council Member Janet Corte. “Which is why I was so excited to see Houston Community College and then the University of Houston bringing locations out here to the Katy area and partnered with Katy Independent School District.”

The new campus will be a part of the HCC West Houston Expansion effort which moves the college from its current location at 1550 Foxlake Drive in the northwestern corner of the intersection of I-10 and Fry Road behind Westgate Marketplace, according to the HCC website. The partnership with UH will mean that students will take their first two years of classes at HCC and possibly obtain an associate degree then complete their bachelor's degree at UH just across the street at 22400 Grand Circle Blvd., Katy.

The new $53 million campus is expected to bring HCC $169 million in revenue in its first 25 years of operation, thus paying for itself over time. The sale of the Foxlake campus will also offset costs for construction, according to documentation from HCC. HCC Northwest College President Zachary Hodges said the project remains on budget and on time for a spring 2022 opening.

The new HCC campus will provide courses in several areas of studies across academia, and students that are enrolled in the engineering and nursing courses will be dual-enrolled in UH so they can take classes at both campuses as needed for their degrees.

“We are committed to a new approach to higher education based on project-based learning and student engagement,” Hodges said. “The entire first floor (of the Katy HCC campus) will focus on experiential learning, coaching, mentoring and facilitating student success from the first time a student walks in until they leave with their associate degree or that new high-tech job in our community.”