The first piece in the development of UB's downtown campus broke ground Tuesday afternoon.
Around 200 people attended the ceremony for the commencement of construction on the Educational Opportunity Center, a facility for training urban community members for jobs and preparing them for higher education.
The new $46 million development, placed at 77 Goodell St. in Buffalo will replace the EOC's present site at 465 Washington St.
UB's new development will allow the organization to expand to include 2,000 more people in their services. The EOC hosts programs and services, including classes in remedial and academic preparation and specific job training programs in allied health, life sciences, information technology and environmental industries.
Speakers at the groundbreaking included UB President John B. Simpson, EOC Executive Director Sherryl Weems, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Assembly Member Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes and William Chalmers, SUNY assistant provost and director of the SUNY University Center for Academic and Workforce Development.
The development of the four-story EOC building will connect to the former M. Wile building to form the UB Downtown Gateway Complex, a cornerstone of UB's downtown campus.
"[The construction of the new EOC] marks a major step forward for UB 2020, and for the continuing commitment to community engagement that is such a vital part of UB's mission as a public research university," Simpson said.
For over 40 years, EOC has provided disenfranchised urban communities with academic programs that lead to "higher education and vocational training programs leading to gainful employment and economic self-sufficiency," according to the SUNY EOC website.
"The more than 40-year evolution of our University at Buffalo EOC has been influenced by the promise of a new educational and job-training facility," Weems said during the ceremony. "We are poised to elevate programming to new heights, expand services into the community and maximize working partnerships all toward achieving the priority objective of improving educational service and supportive delivery to a well-deserved population of adult students."
The new development is part of a statewide network of 10 EOCs and two Outreach and Counseling Centers that operate under the University Center for Academic and Workforce Development, the SUNY oversight office of the EOC.
"This new complex ensures that the indelible mark that the EOC has already made on our community will continue to grow well into the future," Simpson said. "UB's academic and community assets are our region's assets – and UB is committed to shaping Buffalo's future by coordinating our wide range of community resources together with this state-of-the-art complex."
The Downtown Gateway Complex will link the EOC to UB programs that will be relocated to the M. Wile building, including UB's Regional Institute, the UB Center for Educational Collaboration and clinics and programs of the Law School and School of Social Work that serve Buffalo's downtown population.
Designed by Holt Architects of Ithaca under the oversight of the SUNY Construction Fund, the 63,834-square-foot EOC building will be constructed primarily of environmentally sustainable durable fiber cement panels and glass and will be LEED certified, in line with the goals of UB 2020.
The first floor will contain a conference center, enrollment management suite, career services suites and support spaces. Additionally, the building will house the Bethel Head Start program, as well as classrooms, faculty and administrative offices.
The groundbreaking ceremony celebrated both the goals of UB 2020 and the recognition of EOC and its impact on the local community.
"Breaking ground for this unbelievable project signals that Educational Opportunity Centers have finally been recognized as adult education institutions, and not mere programs," Chalmers said. "EOCs are institutions whose students deserve to learn in an environment that will spawn creativity, innovation and motivate them to strive for excellence."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
