Lakers are sure to have noticed the construction that’s been taking place throughout the school year. At the start of the 2019-2020 Fall Semester, students can expect to see the expansions to the Luther Student Center completed. This expansion will see several key campus resources relocated.

The college is hoping to provide a sort of one-stop shopping experience for students in the Luther Student Center. TriO, Student Life, Counseling and Admission services will be moving to the new section of the Student Center.

Meanwhile, the Campus Nurse’s office and Bookstore will move to where Admissions is currently located. The Police Department will also be moving into the Student Center Building, providing a much closer headquarters to campus.

Lastly, Financial Aid and Accounting will be located side by side to provide easier access to students.

The new student center will feature an open lab space and new televisions and a new lounge area for students to utilize for studying and socializing. This new space is meant to invite students to hang out on campus and be involved. Lake Land was able to begin this construction when a bond opened up. A 16 million dollar bond was approved by the board and finalized in February of 2018 to finance the project.

By utilizing the bond Lake Land was able to start this project without impacting taxpayers. A project such as this has been something that the college has been pursuing for almost 20 years. The previously planned designs saw almost 52,000 square feet of expansion. However, due to state cutbacks in funding Lake Land was unable to do this until now, and on a much smaller scale. The current plans feature 18,200 square feet, a great scale back from the original 52,000. The idea wasn’t to simply update an old building but to create a new space for students to engage. The Luther Student Center expansion will be entirely geothermal and will receive a new HVAC system.