ECC to Renovate Student Lounge

Additional state-of-the-art renovations will soon start on Edgecombe Community College’s Rocky Mount campus. The student lounge, located in the Barnes building, will be completely modernized. Construction is slated to begin this month, with completion anticipated approximately 180 days after the start.

Rocky Mount students will be treated to a more modern and inviting space, including new device charging stations, a new tv and other cosmetic fixes, according to Andrew Votipka, vice president of finance and administrative services at ECC.

“The student lounge will also be renovated to increase its seating capacity,” says Votipka. “A commercial grade kitchen will be added that will allow for a vendor to offer breakfast and lunch options to students and staff.” Currently, Votipka’s office schedules food trucks for the Rocky Mount campus as an option for students.

Votipka says he hopes the added space will give students more room for relaxing, studying and enjoying good food. It will also easily accommodate ECC students and students in the Edge Academy of Health Sciences, also housed on the ECC campus. Other aspects of the renovation include the addition of a new entrance and replacement of the outdated glass wall, ultimately helping with climate control.

The renovations will be completed by Waters Contracting Company based in Bogue, N.C, with oversight of the project from JKF Architecture of Greenville, N.C. JKF also served as the architect firm for the completion of the auditorium and the renovation of the Barbering Building on ECC’s Rocky Mount campus.

“The lounge is in close proximity to the recently updated campus store, library, and other student services,” says Votipka. “So, we hope it will invite more students to take advantage of those great services.”