Southwestern Michigan College to undertake two new construction projects

Southwestern Michigan College’s campus will be undergoing some changes through two recently announced construction projects. The Charles O. Zollar Building will receive a new room dedicated to wrestling and the Dale A. Lyons Building will receive upgraded music facilities to benefit students and the community. In order to fund these campus upgrades, the Southwestern Michigan College Foundation will launch the Room to Grow campaign, for which large donations will be entitled to naming rights for the wrestling and performing arts rooms.

According to an article on Southwestern Michigan College’s website, Tom Jerdon, who serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees, was quoted as saying of the projects, “For over a decade, SMC’s mission has included giving our students a total college life experience. Athletics and performing arts are critical pieces of that experience, and based on attendance and enthusiasm, we know that the local community fully supports them. These projects will leverage existing buildings to expand opportunities for current and future students, and they will be completed responsibly without imposing any additional debt on taxpayers. This is a very exciting day for our college.”

The project for the Zollar Building, which is a 11,195-square-foot wing addition for the wrestling teams, will quadruple the space the teams have to use for practice. It will also serve as a space for competitions, including conferences and meets. The facility project will include new restrooms, offices for team coaches, locker rooms, and a fitness and warmup area. The project is expected to be completed by February 2026. 

The Lyons Building’s renovations will begin in the summer of 2026. The improvements will include a choir room with enhanced acoustics, a band room expansion that will help accommodate 20 additional members, practice room upgrades, new restrooms, a classroom, and ensemble rooms. Construction is expected to finish sometime in 2028.

Dr. Joe Odenwald, the college’s president, encouraged the community to contribute to the Room to Grow campaign to help meet the projects’ $11 million price tag. Odenwald said, “The championship success of SMC Wrestling in just three seasons is incredible, and the high-quality of the performances by our choir, band and musical theater students over many decades is unquestioned. Student learning takes place every day, all across campus - not just in the classroom - and we need to continue to provide modern facilities that measure up to the level of excellence the faculty, staff and students are already achieving. We urge community members to embrace this opportunity to build more room for them to grow.”

For more information about Southwestern Michigan College, visit the school’s website.