PLATTSBURGH — The re-location of Clinton Community College will make their attractive campus at Bluff point available for re-development by the county.
While there is great anticipation and excitement about what to do with the majestic property, nothing will happen overnight.
“This is not about being fast, it’s about being right,” Clinton County Legislature Chairman Mark Henry (R-Area 3, Chazy) said.
“That property is going to be there for a very long time, and I’d much rather we get it right than we get it quick.”
CCC is scheduled to move onto the campus at SUNY Plattsburgh in the fall of 2025. The two-year college opted to move after declining enrollment made it no longer feasible to maintain such a large campus.
The school has been at the Bluff Point location in the Town of Plattsburgh since the late 1960s.
The county, which owns the property, is charged with the responsibility of re-development.
FIRM STUDY
The Clinton County Industrial Development Agency hired the Albany firm PCL at a price of $84,715 to conduct a feasibility study of what could be done with the property.
That study is expected to be done sometime in mid-2025.
Henry said the county will discuss the findings and provide an opportunity for public input as the process moves along.
CCC receiving accreditation from Middle States Commission on Higher Education was a key part of the process.
“Theoretically, had they (CCC) not received accreditation the college would not exist and then we would be back at square one as to what we are going to do, and we would kind of have to start over,” Henry said.
“The accreditation process cements the re-location for the college. It’s all linked together.”
The accreditation was given through the 2029-30 school year.
Henry said once the college leaves the Bluff Point campus next fall, the re-development process will likely speed up.
“There is going to be a lot involved,” he said.
“There is the feasibility study, and of course we will go to the public. We want to make sure that this benefits everyone, including the county, and that the most amount of people can benefit from this, and that it will have a positive economic impact on the county.”
The Institute of Advanced Manufacturing on the CCC campus will remain as Champlain Valley Educational Services has agreed to take it over. The program trains students for careers in manufacturing, which is a burgeoning sector in the North Country.
The region was boosted by news Tuesday that Micro Bird, a leading manufacturer of electric school buses, will be purchasing the Nova Bus facility on Banker Road, which will likely save about 300 skilled jobs in the region.
Nova Bus is scheduled to leave their facility in 2025 after producing buses there since 2009.
Henry said the manufacturing sector in the area is still strong and having the IAM functioning at a high level is critical.
“They (CVES) has done a terrific job we we expect them to continue to do a terrific job in the future so that building is locked up with what I think is a very good future for our area,” Henry said.
“With the Micro Bird news and CCC’s accreditation news, it’s a good day to be a resident of Clinton County, and we have much to be thankful for this holiday season.”