DENVER - Fort Lewis College has been made the top higher-education construction funding project for the upcoming legislative session that begins in January.
The top-tier placement by the governor's office and the Department of Higher Education is now in the hands of capital development legislative leaders.
The priority pushes FLC ahead of even the University of Colorado, Boulder, making it likely that the college will receive the final phase of funding for a new science building.
The proposal is for $8.3 million for the final phase of construction. FLC already has received about $20.8 million for construction of the new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering Building.
The college still will have to come up with an estimated $4 million to finish the project, which could climb to as high as $6 million. A fundraising campaign is expected to kick off in the coming weeks.
"We do feel very confident that we've made a good case for why a Geosciences, Physics and Engineering Building is important, not just for the college, but for the state and the nation," said Mitch Davis, spokesman for FLC. "Colorado prides itself on being a high-tech friendly state, but to do that, you need well-trained people to do those jobs."
Davis explained the journey of the project as an "odyssey." The idea has been in the works for more than a decade, when in the early 2000s college officials identified a need for a new science building on the campus. But in 2008, the economy tanked, eliminating all hope for state funding.
Since then, the science programs offered by the college have remained popular, with an employment rate for graduates standing at more than 90 percent.
Davis expects the school to outgrow its current building in as little as two years because of exploding enrollment that has more than doubled in the past few years.
"The Legislature has seen that this is a great need," Davis said. "Students want to study these programs, and if we don't have a new facility, we are not going to be able to provide."
But the funding proposal must still navigate a maze of legislative hurdles, including the powerful Joint Budget Committee.
FLC was snubbed back in March when the JBC stunned onlookers by bumping FLC and several other projects off a capital development funding list. The JBC's move favored college projects in Denver and Colorado Springs, to the ire of many observers.
Lawmakers - led by Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Rep. Mike McLachlan, D-Durango - pushed for a compromise in the state budget that provided funding for the projects.
FLC officials are hopeful that similar drama can be avoided this year. The state is facing a robust budget proposal from the governor because of a surge in revenue as a result of the recovering economy.
But JBC members stopped short of saying the capital development funding proposals this year are a sure thing.
"It remains to be seen," said Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, a member of the JBC. "I'm not interested in changing the sequence. The real question is how much can we afford? Lots of projects we started last year have continuing phases."
But Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, a member of the Capital Development Committee, said she doesn't expect a fight this year. The committee will hold hearings on the priorities list in January, with the list due in mid-February.
"I will fight hard to keep it like it came out," Jahn said. "(FLC) has been waiting a long time. I think it's an incredibly great project. The rural areas have to be a primary concern."