Berkeley City College this week celebrated the completion of an expansion campus at the corner of Milvia and Center streets in downtown Berkeley.
BCC West is a new six-story, 60,000-square-foot academic and administrative building that opened recently for the college’s fall semester, located just one-half block east of BCC’s main campus at 2050 Center St.
The fully electric campus includes 15 new classrooms, two art studios, learning resource facilities and expanded student and faculty support areas. The building’s top floor includes a rooftop terrace, which offers sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay.
“As enrollment continues to grow, this facility not only increases our physical footprint in downtown Berkeley, but will provide transformative opportunities for students to succeed,” said BCC President Denise Richardson in a statement.
Construction of the campus started in 2024 and the building was occupied by the college this June, as all of the facilities there neared completion. The project’s budget was $93.6 million, according to the Peralta Community College District — the district which serves BCC and three other northern Alameda County community colleges.
According to BCC representatives, the campus’ funding primarily came from Measure G, an $800 million bond for Peralta Community College District capital projects that was approved by northern Alameda County voters in November 2018. Measure G, which was the largest bond in the district’s history, is a general obligation bond, which will be repaid through property taxes on property within the Peralta Community College District.
Measure G is also funding a modernization of BCC’s main campus on Center Street, and multiple projects at the College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College, the three other community colleges in the district.
According to the college’s website, BCC has historically ranked among California’s top community colleges for transferring students to the California State University and University of California systems. As of fall 2023, 46% of students that attended BCC were first-generation college students.
