Okaloosa Walton College Continues to Grow

OKALOOSA-WALTON COLLEGE
Trustees award construction bid for new complex
From staff reports NICEVILLE — The Okaloosa-Walton College district board of trustees this week awarded a construction contract for the Community Services Complex. The contract was awarded to Speegle Construction Inc. of Niceville for a little more than $30.67 million. The college received bids from nine firms. Construction of the Community Services Complex that will double as a state-of-the-art hurricane shelter is expected to begin in June and should be completed by July 2010. The joint-use facility, which will be on the southwestern portion of the college’s Niceville campus, will house Okaloosa County’s Emergency Operations Center, various OWC instructional programs such as ROTC and an athletic arena. The arena will seat about 2,400 people and will become the college’s main venue for basketball and major assemblies. The complex will include a county public safety building to support staffers who manage emergencies and 911 public safety communications, including dispatch for Emergency Medical Services, fire and police. A new college wellness center will also be included. Classrooms are designed to provide sleeping, relief and resting quarters for workers during emergencies. The design team for the complex is Sam Marshall Architects of Pensacola and Orcutt Consulting of Maine, a team that has worked on several major college projects in the past.