Construction projects continue on AC campus this fall

September 8, 2025 The Ranger AC Update, Front Page, News 0

By Jate Britton
Videographer

Amarillo College students beginning the 2025-2026 aca-demic year are being greeted with construction projects on the Washington Street Campus in various stages of completion. Projects range from the remodeling of existing areas to relocating student resources.

A major goal of these projects is to update the facilities on campus in order to provide the best possible environment for students, faculty and staff.

According to Vice President of Business Affairs Chris Sharp, 12 major reconstruction projects have been completed and two ongoing projects are about 75% finished. Sharp said that keeping campus facilities accessible for students, faculty and staff was important during the process. “We worked really hard with our architects and contractors to keep the campus safe and construction sites closed off,” Sharp said.

Among the major projects is a relocation of the Lynn Library from the fourth floor to the third floor of the Ware Student Commons. “I think it’s now a much better experience,” Melissa Eder, director of library, said. “It’s a quieter floor now, and it looks nicer. We used to have carpet that dated back to the eighties, and the shelving now is so much nicer than the tall shelves.”

The completed project has made the library a better environment for AC students, adding a classroom for instruction and workshops, noise-dampening study rooms and more computers. “I think the addition of our study rooms is awesome for people who need silence to study, like the ones in the underground, but they’re made for larger groups while our rooms are made for only one or two people,” Jesse Starr, circulation supervisor, said.

Construction on the first floor of the new Student Life building and the remaining sections of Ware Student Commons is scheduled to wrap up in about three months. Sharp said the projects reflect a wider effort to modernize campus, including new technology in classrooms, renovated facilities, redesigned parking and expanded landscaping over the past five years. “We are really proud of the changes that have been made and look forward to continued improvements,” Sharp said.