LSC closing downtown campus as main college campus looks to expand

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - Lake Superior College will be closing its Downtown campus and moving programs back to its main campus next year as the college looks to expand.

The downtown campus, which houses most of its welding, computer-aided design (CAD), and CNC Machining programs under its Manufacturing umbrella, is currently under lease.

However, according to the college, that lease was coming to an end and the college was looking at options to either lease a new building in downtown Duluth or return its programs back to its main campus.

After receiving $8.3 million from the bonding bill passed during the last legislative session, the college is using the money to expand its T building on the main campus on Trinity Road. The plan calls for an 8,300-square-foot expansion into the existing lawn and parking lot.

In a statement to Northern News Now, “The parking lot will lose a net of nice spaces, but it will also bring it up to current ADA standards,” said David Kline, Lake Superior’s Vice President of Advancement and External Relations. “Final drawings are very close to completion by Kraus Anderson Construction.”

Kline says internal demolition of the new space is already underway. LSC’s main campus also got a roof repair and a new air handler in the automotive shop this summer.

The downtown campus will close in May 2024 after the spring semester wraps up.

“We’re excited to have these students and programs back on the main campus where access to student services will be much easier. We believe prospective students want to take their classes on the main campus in a new facility with the hundreds of other students,” said Kline in a statement.

Just this summer, Northern News Now reported on a pair of lawsuits brought against the school about alleged concerns with the ventilation systems at its downtown campus. According to the college, it says the move to the main campus is not related to the recent lawsuit.

RELATED: Second whistleblower files lawsuit against Lake Superior College

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