By Precious Kenney
The Scene staff
Much fanfare surrounded the announcement last spring that St. Louis Community College would build a new multi-million-dollar Hospitality and Enrollment Center on the Forest Park campus.
Six months later, the project is dead.
Administrators now say they hope to spend the funds to renovate the current Hospitality Studies Center and Student Center instead.
Rising inflation and construction costs prompted the college to rethink its plan, according to Hart Nelson, STLCC chief operations manager.
“It was significantly over budget,” he said in a recent interview. “The (new building) had been allocated about $28 million, and the estimated cost after we went through the more detailed design phase was around $42 million.”
In March, administrators were estimating the cost at $38 million while expressing hope that it could be 
reduced to $32 million with added efficiencies.
Nelson was hired in late 2021 to lead STLCC Transformed, a plan to spend about $450 million for improvements on the college’s four campuses. That was made possible by passage of Proposition R in a special election on Aug. 3, 2021, when district voters agreed to raise property taxes.
Disappointment for faculty
The recent change related to Forest Park construction means the hospitality studies department won’t be moving into a new state-of-the-art facility as promised.
“We were disappointed when we got the trickle-down word,” said Ellen Piazza, chair of culinary arts, baking and pastry arts. “No one had officially told us we were not getting a new building. We kind of heard it when the president made an announcement during a larger meeting.”
Information about the change was posted on an unknown date in the Forest Park section of the STLCC Transformed page on the college’s website.
Original plans called for the new Hospitality and Enrollment Center to be built south of the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, off College Drive. That area is now a green space with landscaping and a sculpture of giant “light walls.”
The two-story building would have housed the financial aid office, the cashier’s office and counseling services on the first floor and hospitality studies on the second floor.
The current Hospitality Studies Center was slated for demolition. For years, administrators, faculty and students have described it as outdated and inadequate.
Culinary arts student Jary Klein wasn’t surprised that administrators changed their minds about the new building. The retired dentist remembers a similar turn of events decades ago at his dental school.
“(The current Hospitality Studies Center) is a little out of date, but it’s a matter of money,” he said. “There are the construction costs. That’s just how things are.”
Other building on track
The college still plans to build a new Transportation and Logistics Center on the Forest Park campus as part of STLCC Transformed. It will house automotive technology, diesel technology and truck-driving programs.
The estimated cost of that building is $48 million, according to the college’s website. That’s down from the $50 million figure used in March.
Administrators conducted multiple feasibility studies to try to figure out how to build a new Hospitality and Enrollment Center within the college’s budget, but they couldn’t do it, according to Nelson.
“For comparison, (the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences) was built and completed in 2019,” he said. “We were able to build it for $400 per square foot. Now, to build the hospitality and enrollment building, we’re coming in at around $920 per square foot.”
Another feasibility study is under way to assess the possibility of renovating the current Hospitality Studies Center and to answer key questions, such as whether everything planned can fit in the existing space, whether the building is stable enough for renovation and whether it can be done within the allocated budget.
Renovation, while typically less expensive than new construction, presents its own challenges, according to Nelson. Older buildings often contain hazardous materials, such as asbestos and lead, which must be safely removed, and that can be expensive.
Not to mention the logistical problems of renovating an occupied building.
“When you’re doing a renovation, people still need to take culinary classes in the space, and we need to figure out how to do renovations while they are all there,” Nelson said. “It could be that we can find some temporary kitchen space, or we offer classes in another location, or it could be that we phase it.”
Longstanding department
The hospitality studies department has a long history on the Forest Park campus, dating back to 1962.
Today, STLCC offers associate degrees in baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality management. Some 350 to 500 students are enrolled at any one point, either full-time or part-time.
The current Hospitality Studies Center was built in 1999, so it’s newer than the original campus buildings. Program accreditation is contingent on having up-to-date facilities, according to Piazza.
“Our accreditors made notes and comments that our facility was clearly showing signs of age,” she said. “And if changes do not occur when they come back in five years, our exemplary status could be jeopardized. If our hotels have dirty doors, you’re not going to trust that our beds are clean. If you walk into my restaurant and my bathroom is covered, how are you going to think my kitchen looks?
“For us, the facility is a really important part, both in competing with students and giving the students an opportunity to work in an environment that they would find in the real world.”
Original plans for the new Hospitality and Enrollment Center called for workers to begin site preparation in the spring and construction over the summer. The building was expected to be completed in 2025.
Despite Piazza’s disappointment with the change in plans, she promises that faculty members will continue to provide students with the highest-quality education possible.
“We really believe that we have one of the best programs in the country,” she said. “Even if we’re not brand new, we will continue to do that.”