Serving Soon
HCC's new downtown Culinary Arts and Hospitality education center is on schedule to open this fall.
Construction is well under way on HCC's new downtown Culinary Arts and Hospitality education center, with the project on schedule to be completed and programming to begin this fall.
When it opens, the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute will occupy the first and second floors of the Cubit Building, a square, four-story, red-brick former factory in Holyoke's Innovation District on the corner of Appleton and Race streets, directly across from the city's new Canal Walk, adjacent to the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, and down the block from Gateway City Arts.
"It's a great building in a fantastic location in a developing and reinvigorated part of the city," said Amy Dopp, HCC's interim vice president of Institutional Advancement. "We're very happy to be able to contribute to that renewed vitality and believe the city, the college, and the region will all benefit from our presence there."
Holyoke Community College will celebrate the progress of the project on Saturday, Aug. 26, during the city's Celebrate Holyoke community festival. A short program outside the building will begin at noon, followed by tours every half hour from 12:30 until 4:30 p.m.
Holyoke mayor Alex Morse and HCC president Christina Royal are expected to offer short remarks while students and faculty from HCC's Culinary Arts program will serve a selection of freshly made dishes.
HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute Nears Completion - WWLP, 22News
Tour construction of new HCC Culinary Arts Center - MassLive
Work on the $6.2 million, 19,888-square foot project is scheduled to be done by late September, pending any unanticipated delays. W.J. Mountford Co., of South Windsor, Conn., is the general contractor. Funding was secured from a variety of sources: the Mass. Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development ($1.75 million), the U.S. Economic Development Administration ($1.55 million); HCC reserves and HCC Foundation ($2.4 million), the City of Holyoke ($400,000), and MGM Resorts ($100,000).
On the first floor, students and teachers will have at their disposal multiple training areas: a teaching kitchen, bakery laboratory kitchen, production kitchen, dining room, and a classroom with a demonstration kitchen, all fitted with the most modern equipment.
The second floor will feature two smart classrooms, a hotel laboratory, a teaching kitchen for noncredit programs, men's and women's changing rooms, a student lounge, conference space, and faculty and staff offices.
"We're going to have the latest and greatest of everything," said chef and HCC Culinary Arts professor Warren Leigh. "It's going to be the finest, free-standing community college hospitality and culinary arts education and training center in New England - nearly 20,000 square feet. That's exciting."
There will be plenty of room for HCC to expand its programs for students seeking two-year degrees and one-year certificates, as well as those looking for short-term job training
The facility will allow HCC to bring all levels of culinary and hospitality training into one location: associate degree and credit certificate programs; noncredit professional development certificates, such as ServSafe and TiPS; personal enrichment classes, including gourmet cooking; and job training for the unemployed.
Noncredit programming will begin in November and credit classes next spring.
Click here to see a 360-degree panoroma of the second floor student lounge
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HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute First Floor
An architect's rendering shows the first floor lobby of the new HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.
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HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute Student Lounge
An architect's rendering shows the student lounge on the second floor of the new HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.
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HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute Dining Room
An architect's rendering shows the dining room on the first floor of the new HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.
