Wallace Community College unveils $127 million in capital projects

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Wallace Community College unveiled a $127 million capital project that includes a new athletic complex, renovations to 10 buildings and new spaces for workforce programs.

College President Kathy Murphy, who has led the college for just over a year, presented the plan in front of students, local officials and state leaders. Murphy described the plan as comprehensive, aggressive and ambitious.

“This day didn’t happen fast enough. Like, I wanted to be here sooner than today. But, you know, there’s been a lot of work that’s gone into this. The feasibility study of our buildings, our campus. But it’s so exciting to look back at what we’ve done over the last 17 months,” Murphy said.

A major piece of the project is a new athletic complex designed to support current programs and make way for new sports such as basketball and flag football.

“We do not have a gymnasium currently on our campus, and so the opportunity to build an arena, to have some auxiliary facilities such as an eight-lane track and tennis courts and pickleball courts and beach volleyball area, that gives us the opportunity to expand our athletic programs over time,” Murphy said.

The campus would also get pickleball and tennis courts as well as a track and field.

The plan also targets workforce development. It includes modernizing existing buildings, such as welding, and building dedicated spaces for programs such as diesel technology.

Leaders said the overhaul is centered on upgrading the entire student experience.

“We’re excited to renovate 10 of our buildings to bring in new equipment, new opportunities for those students to work with equipment that’s state-of-the-art. Excited about our student center. There are just so many good, awesome things happening there,” Murphy said.

Murphy acknowledged the scale of the project. The college has $84 million committed, which leaves a $43 million gap. The college hopes to cover the gap through community partnerships and private foundations.

“We have some space between what we have and how much we really want in order to meet all these projects. And so, we’re looking forward to continuing to work with our community. We hope that our foundations will come along beside us, and they’re planning to do that to support us,” Murphy said.

The goal is to complete all planned projects by 2029.

As new facilities are built, the college plans to demolish several older buildings on campus. The college also has unveiled separate capital improvement projects for its Eufaula campus.

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