Southeast Michigan Student Success Center (SEMSSC)

Dear Colleagues and Students,

Following our SEMSSC update from August 2025, the Steering Committee has been working closely with Granger Construction and Stantec to move the project forward.

Campus construction and renovation projects are exciting, and can also be somewhat disruptive. I want you to know that the Board, the Cabinet, the Steering Committee, and I are committed to supporting College operations and working to mitigate the disruption throughout the project. Here are some of our planned efforts toward that end:

• Breaking the project into phases for better planning
• Initiating phases during natural semester breaks
• Hiring a professional move management company

I know some of this will be challenging, and I thank you in advance for bearing with us as we create our new Southeast Michigan Student Success Center over the next few years.

Timeline and ongoing updates

As I shared with the Board of Trustees on October 20, we now have a proposed timeline for the five construction and renovation phases of the project. The details I am sharing here are subject to change, but they will help you understand what we are planning and when.

SEMSSC Construction Master Plan: Project Phases

See Timeline section on this webpage for a table representation of this information

The project will include 5 phases that will take approximately 3.5 years to complete after groundbreaking.

Here are the planned phases and prospective timelines:

Phase 1: Expected timeline is May 2026 through April 2027

• Renovate Building A
• Move data center

Phase 2: Expected timeline is May 2027 through July 2027

• Transition faculty/staff from Building N to Building A
• Transition Campus Safety to a temporary home
• Demolish Building N

Phase 3: Expected timeline is May 2027 through January 2029

• Relocate classrooms and offices from Building K to other locations
• Complete renovations of Building K
• Work on chiller plant
• Move back into Building K

Phase 4: Expected timeline is April 2028 through August 2029

• Break ground for new SEMSSC building
• Construction
• Grand Opening

Phase 5, “the campus connection”: Expected timeline is May 2029 through December 2029

• Refurbish first floor of Welcome Center for Campus Safety and other uses
• Site improvement and landscaping

We will keep you informed as we move toward the opening phase of the project next spring (2026).

Please refer to our SEMSSC website for ongoing updates and information (including a potential live webcam when the new construction gets underway). If you hear anything about the project that raises questions, please ask us! I also encourage you to provide feedback through our SEMSSC Comment Form, and watch for more opportunities to provide input as we move into our project phases.

Once again, I thank the Steering Committee and all of you who have worked so hard to prepare us for this transformational student-success project!

Lori Gonko, Ed.D.
Interim President

Dear Colleagues,

I want to share with you an update as a follow-up to the State of the College meeting on August 19.

During the State of the College, I talked briefly about the Southeast Michigan Student Success Center (SEMSSC) project. I affirmed that we would stay true to the vision of the project while making necessary changes due to a 50% increase in the original project’s cost estimates.

On August 27, the Board of Trustees met with our SEMSSC Steering Committee; with our architecture and design partner, Stantec; and with our construction management partner, Granger, for a study session. The Steering Committee and partners presented the Board with a revised plan for the project that aligns with the vision, meets student needs, and can be accomplished within our budget.

After robust discussion and many focused questions from Board members, the Board approved the College moving forward with this plan.

Why this project?

Much more than a construction project, the SEMSSC vision remains focused on supporting student success at the College, in the community, and among learning partners across the region.

The project will bring academic success, library services, enrollment, advising, and counseling together in a state-of-the-art center, creating a point of welcome for current and future students, community members, and education partners. It will also revitalize teaching and learning spaces, providing students and faculty with a collaborative, dynamic environment that continues to foster academic excellence.

Here are some highlights of the updated plan:

• The plan leverages renovation more than new construction. Renovation is more cost-effective and provides additional advantages.

• We will still construct a new building facing Evergreen Road that will be one story, rather than four stories tall. This building is planned to house many of our student services currently located in the Welcome Center as well as gathering spaces for student and community engagement.

• We will not demolish the Walter Reuther Liberal Arts Building (K). Instead, the K building will undergo extensive renovations to modernize it, to make it accessible and welcoming, and to align its spaces with the evolving needs of students and faculty. Keeping K will also allow us to keep important infrastructure in place, such as our chiller plant and related components, and WHFR’s broadcast antenna.

• We will renovate the A building, which was part of the original project plan.

• We will demolish the N building as originally planned. This will create space for the new construction within the revised plan.

• The proposed project timeline is expected to take us through the end of 2029. Here is a brief summary of current plans for the timeline:
  ** We are now in the pre-construction phase.
  ** March 2026 through December 2026: Schematic design, construction drawings, design development, bid process, permits, and procurement. Starting in 2027:
  *** Phase 1 – A and B renovations, data center, relocate Campus Safety, demolish N Building
  *** Phase 2 – SEMSSC construction
  *** Phase 3 – Building K renovation, close-out activities

Advantages, outlook, and Project Success Factors

This is an exciting plan that allows us to accomplish the vision of SEMSSC in a different way than we originally envisioned, while bringing added value to our students, employees, and regional community.

Some of the additional value comes from our seven Project Success Factors:
1. Put students first
2. Model the student success journey
3. Welcome the entire community
4. Support collaboration
5. Be a place of belonging
6. Be adaptable for the future
7. Radically transform student success

As more project details are worked out, we will actively include you, our teammates, and will give you opportunities to provide feedback.

During the next three-plus years, you can expect some changes to how we operate, including temporary relocation of some classes and services during the construction and renovation phases of the project. I look forward to a continued environment of cooperation and collaboration as we all work together toward the completion of this major College project. The SEMSSC will be an important engine for empowering our continued transformation of the student experience, including the ways we all support students and each other.

Of course, we are not waiting for the SEMSSC to be completed to engage in this work. We are actively improving the student experience now, so we’ll be able to fully engage in the new spaces and resources when the SEMSSC is ready.

I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees, the Steering Committee, and all of you for your commitment to serving future generations of HFC students through this project. In the coming years, the project will bring changes to our campus and will support the many, growing and evolving ways we focus on transforming lives and building better futures.

We will update the SEMSSC website in September to reflect the updated project information. Look for opportunities to be involved as plans continue to take shape.

If you have questions or suggestions, we continue to invite your input through the SEMSSC comment form.

As always, you are welcome to reach out to me or the Steering Committee with any questions.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Lori Gonko, Ed.D.
Interim President

To the HFC community from President Kavalhuna

I am excited to give you this update on the Southeast Michigan Student Success Center (SEMSSC) project on our main campus. This webpage will provide public information and will include updates as the project is planned, developed, and completed.

The project, and your role

This will be the biggest infrastructural project in College history, with an expected cost of $80 to $90 million. Its main goal is to support student success in alignment with our strategic plan. The project will entail a new building on Evergreen Road (what will be called the SEMSSC), renovations of A and B buildings, and the demolition of N and K buildings. Other than those broad aspects of the project, nothing has been decided. We are just beginning the planning phases of the project. I am very excited about this transformational project, and I know that we need your help and input to make it a success.

The first public opportunity for you to provide input will be Wednesday, November 20, at a Town Hall meeting in the Forfa Auditorium from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. We will discuss vision, guiding principles, and goals. I will send a separate invitation message with an agenda. The Town Hall will not be your only opportunity to give input. We will create other in-person and online opportunities for you to provide feedback.

Where does the project stand?

After the Board of Trustees officially approved the SEMSSC project’s budget in August, we triggered two distinct public bidding processes to select professional firms to help us design (architect) and build (construction) this project. We intentionally selected a cross-section of our teammates to help select these firms.

I am excited to report that the scale of our SEMSSC project drew impressive bids from beyond our state and region (something that has not occurred with our smaller projects). This selection process included countless hours of evaluating proposals and interviewing applicants. I am grateful for the following teammates who took on this important selection work:

Selection of Architectural/Engineering Firm

• John Satkowski (VP of Finance)
• Jayne Sakelaris (Special assistant to the VP of Finance)
• Dan Murray (Purchasing Director)
• Reuben Brukley (Facilities Director)
• Holly Diamond (VP of Student Affairs)
• Brad Romans (Dean of SOLA)
• Michael Nealon (VP of Academic Affairs)
• Denise Piche (Academic Affairs)
• Lori Gonko (VP Strategy and HR)
• Anthony Perry (Faculty Member from Senate)
• Eric Rader (Representing Local 1650)

Selection of Construction Management Firm

• John Satkowski (VP of Finance)
• Jayne Sakelaris
• Dan Murray (Purchasing Director)
• Reuben Brukley (Facilities Director)
• Brad Romans (Dean of SOLA)
• Denise Piche (Academic Affairs)
• Eric Rader (Representing Local 1650)

These groups developed a scoring rubric that assessed each proposal, which led to consensus recommendations for the Board of Trustees, who accepted these recommendations that we partner with an architectural firm called Stantec and a Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR) firm called Granger Construction.

Stantec is familiar with the College, and we have built a good relationship with them. They will manage the design and structural planning for the project. Granger will manage the construction planning.

Granger will make sure all costs are accounted for up-front, so we can minimize any surprises or cost overruns.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the process that led to these selections, and please thank your teammates who worked hard on this transparent, collaborative process. I am particularly thankful for Purchasing Director Dan Murray, Facilities Director Reuben Brukley, and Trustee Mary Petlichkoff, who each gave particularly outstanding effort to bring us to this point.

What happens next?

Our SEMSSC website has a preliminary timeline. We are starting the process of developing the details of the project. This work will continue our specific intent to seek your input, and it will continue through February 2025.

Beginning next week, Stantec will hold initial meetings with many of the project’s HFC teams. These teams were developed to include diverse voices from our College. These teams will meet with Stantec in early November for the following discussions:
1. Workshop on needs for community/commons spaces
2. Workshop on needs for Welcome Center / Enrollment Services
3. Workshop on needs for learning environments
4. Workshop on needs for academic departments and faculty
5. Workshop on needs for academic success
6. Workshop on needs for operations / infrastructure / site utilities
7. Workshop on needs for student collaboration / group spaces
8. Workshop on needs for other spaces
9. Workshop on needs for campus integration and site design (interior and exterior)
10. Workshop on needs for instructional technology
11. Workshop on needs for data center
12. Workshop on needs for IEMP
13. Workshop on needs for chiller plant

How can you stay informed and involved?

I will provide periodic updates on the SEMSSC project, and we will keep the website up-to-date. You are also welcome to speak to any member of any of the project teams (see list on this webpage).

I invite you to attend the first Town Hall, and take advantage of future opportunities to connect and communicate. As always, I encourage you to directly tell me about your views on this exciting project, or any other item.

As I hope you can see, I am excited about this work! It has been something many of us have been pursuing for more than four years. I look forward to working with all of you as we continue to transform lives and build better futures.

Russ

In August 2024, the HFC Board of Trustees approved a Resolution Authorizing 2025 Community College Building and Site Bonds. According to the resolution, "proceeds of the Bonds shall be used for capital improvement projects within the College, including, but not limited to, the construction, equipping and furnishing of a new Southeast Michigan Student Success Center building, the renovation, equipping and furnishing of existing facilities, and site work, including the demolition of two existing buildings."

Why this project?

The purpose of this new project is to create a up-to-date facility on the main HFC campus that will support teaching, learning, and services to advance student success. This project, tied directly to our strategic plan focused on student success, will be the largest-ever construction project on our campuses. The centerpiece will be a new multi-story building as a “front door” on our main campus facing Evergreen Road.

The project will include a new Welcome Center area, classrooms, student service offices, student soft spaces, gathering spaces, and other amenities.

The project will be designed with a variety of flexible, multi-use spaces that can foster and support innovations as educational practices, student needs, community activities, and expectations continue to evolve in the coming decades.

In addition to the new building facing Evergreen road, there will be substantial renovations to the main campus A and B buildings (and smaller renovations to the D building). The project is expected to include the demolition of the N and K buildings, and the creation of a new, centrally located “campus quad” space that can be used for large outdoor events such as Commencement.

When will this happen, and who is supporting this project?

This is a large, complex project. Timelines and phases are mostly TBD. We will share more on this webpage as the project moves forward.

Over time, hundreds of individuals at the College will be involved in creating this project and bringing it to fruition. All community members are invited to participate and share their feedback.

The project architect is Stantec, and the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) is Granger Construction.