Temple College was a site for celebration on Friday, as more than 100 stakeholders watched the top-most beam of the new Main Building be hoisted into place. The 115,000-square-foot facility — along with an Arts and Workforce Building, a Health Sciences Center and a Campus Service Center — has been under construction since May 1 and is financed through the $124.9 million bond that Temple voters approved in 2021 with 55% of the vote.
“It is a very special day where we get to put the last beam on the top of this beautiful building,” Temple College President Christy Ponce said. “It has been truly a group effort. We’re so grateful to the community of Temple for making this possible.
It was all of your support and your votes.” The Temple College Main Building was designed by Austin-based Stantec and is being built by Temple-based Cloud Construction. The facility will provide a variety of different amenities for Temple College faithfuls across its four floors, including administrative offices, a Temple College board room, terraces on the third and fourth floors and a coffee bar.
“The first floor will feature a student enrollment services center and a testing center, and allow students to inquire, apply, test and enroll in one convenient location,” Temple College spokesman Eric Eckert said. “The first floor also will feature a large conference space capable of hosting up to 650 guests for large college and community events.” There also will be several areas for student enrichment.
“Nearly two dozen classrooms and three computer labs will provide spaces for students to learn,” Eckert said. “A new Student Success Center on the third floor will provide tutoring and academic support for students.” Although the Temple College Main Building is not set to open until January 2026, Ponce, who has served as the Temple College president since January 2019, is eager to see the impact the facility will soon have on students in the Central Texas community.
“This Main Building is really going to be the beacon building for the Temple College Main Campus,” she said. “It’s where students walk in for the first time. It’s where they enroll, register, and are guided with the support of many student services staff that help them build an academic, workforce, and financial plan.
So we are really excited about the design of our new building because it truly exemplifies a student-centered approach.” During the celebration, those in attendance had an opportunity to sign the top-most beam before heavy machinery lifted it into the air. That same beam also had a small pine tree strapped to it — an ancient tradition with Scandinavian roots.
Builders would know that the frame below — traditionally wood — had cured and could be enclosed once the pine needles had fallen from the branches. “It is symbolic of the life of the college, the students, our leadership and this community,” Temple College board of trustees chairwoman Lydia Santibanez-Farrell, who has served Temple College for 34 years, said. She was among the many to have signed the beam and emphasized her excitement to help usher in a new era at Temple College.
“We have really been blessed to experience so much success under our leadership and all of the hands and feet that are out there working on behalf of our students,” Santibanez-Farrell, who noted how Temple College will celebrate its centennial in 2026, said. “The future is bright and exciting as we think about the next 100 years.”.
