MALIBU—Santa Monica College will be building a new campus in the city of Malibu. In 2004, residents in Santa Monica and Malibu voted yes on Measure S which gave Santa Monica Community College District $135 million in bonds.
The bonds were utilized to make improvements to the main campus. After upgrades, $25 million was left over to build a new campus in the city of Malibu.
In November 2016, Measure V was approved for the Santa Monica Community College District to increase bonds to $345 million. In addition to building the new campus, a new Los Angeles County Sheriff substation has been approved as well. This will be the first time since the early 1990s that Malibu has had a police substation within city limits.
On September 21, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for the project with residents and officials from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Santa Monica College, as well as Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl in attendance on the site of the new campus at 23525 Civic Center Way.
According to the Santa Monica College website, the three-acre campus will include a two-story educational building with labs for science and art; a multipurpose physical activity space; a 100-seat lecture hall with raked seating; a computer lab; and two general education classrooms. Designed by QDG Architecture with numerous sustainability features and fulfilling the city’s “dark skies” standards, the campus will provide space for an interpretive center to support Malibu’s unique culture and history.
“SMC’s Malibu Campus builds on a legacy of valuable educational services that the college has offered to the Malibu community in the past, ranging from art to general education and noncredit offerings,” said Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, SMC Superintendent/President. “We’ve envisioned how that legacy might be further enhanced so that Malibu community members have the best possible learning experience right in their own backyard. Special thanks to the voters who approved the 2004 bond Measure S and the 2016 Measure V to make this campus a reality!”
The new Malibu campus is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2021 and will open to students in 2022, with an estimated total cost of $50 million—which includes costs for construction, contributions to the city of Malibu for clean water facility improvements, and full prepayment of rent to the County.
“Malibu is excited about the valuable benefits that the new SMC campus will bring to our community,” said Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen. “Students here will have access to SMC’s great curriculum close to home, and the Emergency Operations Center and Sheriff’s Substation will be tremendous assets to our public safety and emergency preparedness and response capabilities. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with SMC.”
Written By Antoinette Flores and Donald Roberts
