Officials held a groundbreaking for the expansion last week.
BLOOMFIELD -- Another college in Essex County is expanding, thanks in part to a funding referendum approved by New Jersey voters in 2012.
Bloomfield College officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 16 to announce an $8.2 million renovation that is being partially funded by the New Jersey Building Our Future Bond Act. The project will convert the school's 17,400 square foot student center into a 26,100 square foot CAT building - a center for Creative Arts and Technology, officials announced.
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The new center "will combine cutting-edge computer and other electronic technology to multiple areas of the arts, including music, video and game development," College President Richard Levao said in a statement about the groundbreaking.
The new Liberty Street building should open before the start of the Fall 2016 semester, school officials said. It is set to include an art gallery, a green screen filming studio, a black box studio and a painting studio.
About $2.2 million of the construction cost is coming from the bond, which was presented as a statewide ballot question to voters in 2012.
"This is a dream come true for the our program," said Bloomfield Division of Creative Arts & Technology chairperson Nancy Bacci.
"Having a space that is built to handle our high-tech needs means that the program can continue to be innovative and forward-looking."
The groundbreaking comes as other area colleges are also taking advantage of the public funding. Montclair State University recently held ceremonies to christen two new buildings on its campus partially paid for by the bond act.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
