Blinn College trustees vote 5-2 to award a construction contract for the first academic building on the new Waller campus

This podcast contains comments from the December 4, 2025 Blinn College board of trustees meeting.January marks another milestone as Blinn College builds a new campus in Waller.Blinn trustees at their December meeting, awarded a $68 million dollar contract to begin construction of the first academic building.The academic building is planned as an approximately 82,000-square-foot, three-story structure that will include classrooms, laboratories, student support areas, and administrative spaces that will form the foundation for future campus development.Click HERE to read and download background information from Blinn College.The trustees vote on the academic building was five to two. Voting no, were two trustees who are retired Blinn administrators.Former senior vice president for student services Dennis Crowson wanted the building to host more than academic courses. Blinn's dean of humanities April Kincaid confirmed the Waller academic building will be used by students in the college's workforce programs.Also voting no, former assistant vice chancellor of facilities Richard O'Malley was concerned about issuing debt. Responding to O'Malley's comments, trustee Randy Wells, who is a pastor who leads Brenham's Faith Mission, quoted the portion of Proverbs 29:18 that says "where's there's no vision, the people perish" in supporting the construction contract.In addition to starting construction on the first academic building, Blinn chancellor Mary Hensley gave an update on building a workforce training complex in Waller.Hensley says the workforce complex will start holding courses next June, and the academic building is scheduled to open for the fall semester in 2027.News release from Blinn College:The Blinn College District Board of Trustees approved a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $68 million for the development of a new academic building on the Blinn-Waller Campus during its Thursday, Dec. 4, meeting. The facility, which will be the first building constructed on the new campus, represents a significant milestone in the College District’s long-range expansion in Waller and the surrounding region.The academic building is planned as an approximately 82,000-square-foot, three-story structure that will include classrooms, laboratories, student support areas, and administrative spaces that will form the foundation for future campus development.The new facility will help meet rapidly growing regional demand for higher education and workforce training. The population within a 20-mile radius of the campus is projected to increase from 851,109 residents in 2024 to 1,024,349 by 2034, positioning Blinn to serve an expanding student population and support the region’s workforce needs.In a related action, the board authorized the College District to proceed with the issuance and sale of $55.5 million in Series 2026 revenue bonds. Bond proceeds will support the construction of the Waller Campus academic building. The College District will fund the remaining project costs from its cash reserves. Blinn also will utilize its reserves to establish the bond reserve fund and to pay the cost of issuing the bonds.The new academic building is part of Blinn’s significant investment in Waller and northwest Houston. In addition to the courses Blinn currently offers at Waller ISD facilities, construction is underway on a 17,000-square-foot Waller Workforce and Technical Education Complex that will begin offering classes this summer.To assist students with applications, payments, academic advising, and financial aid, Blinn recently opened a new administration office at 31406 FM 2920, Suite B203, in Waller. Open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Blinn staff are available at the administration office to assist students with enrollment.Blinn will host a dedicated Registration Day event at the administration office from 9 a.m. until noon on Wednesday, Jan. 7. At that event, students can get one-on-one assistance with admissions, advising, and registration. To sign up, students can visit www.blinn.edu/waller/registration-days.html.