NAMPA, Idaho — The College of Western Idaho is celebrating an expansion that will connect students with new ways to learn coming as soon as next year.
An expansion is underway that will add several buildings to CWI's Nampa campus.
"To build out this campus is not only important - it's critical for the growth and for the prosperity of Idaho and southwest Idaho," CWI President Gordon Jones said.
Renderings show the future of the campus and expansion, which has three main projects:
- Health and Science Building: A 50,000 square-foot space to house the college's health and science programs, with state-of-the-art facilities for students to learn and collaborate.
- Horticulture and Agricultural Science Building: A 40-acre site with 38,000 square-feet of classroom, lab, greenhouse and shop spaces.
- Student Learning Hub: A 35,000 square-foot building intended to be a central location for CWI students and employees. The building will be the home to several resources to support student success at the college.
CWI Nampa campus expansion
Jones said the massive expansion ensures the young college will continue to make an impact on the Treasure Valley that will span generations.
"CWI is only 15 years old, and yet with 31,000 students, our growth in students has actually exceeded our campus," Jones said. "We have 100 acres with one academic building - a beautiful building, but still one. We've realized that needed to catch up and create the learning spaces that match all 121 programs here."
To celebrate the expansion, community and school leaders signed their name on a bridge connecting the 100 acres of the Nampa campus together.
"Back in 2014, we started doing master plans for the growing campus," said Corey Johnson, education design studio director for Cushing Terrell. "What's beautiful now is just to see all of that master planning culminating into actual projects - and dirt turning and foundations being built."
At the center of the bridge is a mural painted by Marcos Serratos, an instructor at CWI. Serratos said the mural was a great opportunity to express his passion for art and give back to his community.
"My daughter is in the center of it," Serratos said. "That's her portrait, she's surrounded by flowers. Her youth represents the youth of the building that's come into play and the youth of this college - and how it's just going to flourish with the flowers and the horticultural center."
Bridging the campus - and bridging opportunities.
"A bridge is really about unlocking things," Jones said. "It connects two things. We're connecting, in this case, some of our learning space with our agriculture and horticulture. But it's also about a community coming together to bridge together to support a school like CWI."
The Health and Science and Horticulture and Agricultural Science buildings are already under construction and expected to be completed in the summer of 2025.
The Student Learning Hub is expected to be completed by the fall of 2026.
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