Clark College shows of Master Plan

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Residents in Ridgefield and Battle Ground had the chance to see the vision of a new north campus of Clark College last week as two open houses were hosted to provide insight on how the college’s Boschma Farms location will look decades down the line.

For the open houses, more than a dozen different displays were set up showing the process of formulating a master plan to take advantage of 70 acres of land on Ridgefield’s east side. A presentation by representatives of both Clark College and civil engineering firm MacKay Sposito detailed some of the process and development plan that featured a six-building phased process reaching final completion tentatively in 2059.

The future site, located on the east side of North 65th Avenue across from North 1st Circle in Ridgefield, was obtained in 2014 through partnerships between Clark College, former dairy farmers Hank and Bernice Boschma and Ridgefield East 1 Association LLC, according to the Clark College website’s page on the development.

MacKay Sposito Vice President of Design Bryan Cole spoke at the Battle Ground open house to discuss some of the particulars of the site, its planned design and the design phases. Currently the design is in a draft master plan, with those involved in the task force for the campus seeking public comment in order to put together the final plan.

Cole touched on why having a master plan was important to moving forward with the campus, remarking that the task force was “really setting the framework, or the bones, of this campus.”

Part of the planning process involved taking an inventory on what’s already on or planned for the site, Cole explained. The task force looked at park trails, one of which, McCormick Creek Trail, is planned to go through the area according to the City of Ridgefield’s Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan.

Cole said the task force identified two strong corridors of land that could become natural habitats in the site, along McCormick and Allen creeks -- two degraded streams that could be restored through campus development.

Maintaining views was another important point raised by the task force, Cole said, specifically seeing Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens and occasionally Mt. Rainier when the conditions were right. 

The design as presented has a slightly clustered nexus of buildings on the land’s east side, as evidenced in some of the displays and the presentation. The six buildings were broken up into smaller “pods” as Cole described it, providing a courtyard-type feel while not sacrificing the views of the land.

In terms of process, Cole explained the first phase of development would feature the construction of a road from the west side of campus to the first, two-story, 70,000 square-foot building along with 350 parking spaces on the west of the new structure; all of which would be completed in 2021 after beginning in 2019. Along with site construction he added that work on recovering the stream, Allen Creek, could begin.

Work on streams could be a twofold benefit, as Cole explained that having more volume in the streambeds would mitigate flooding downstream and could also aid in dealing with campus stormwater.



Phase two would include a three-story, 70,000 square-foot building south of the first along with more parking. Phase three would feature a one-story, 70,000 square-foot building toward the north of the building cluster, more parking and the start of development of McCormick Creek to the far East of the campus.

Phase four would, like previous phases, feature a new building and more parking, but would also involve creating a road to the north of the property in order to open up the campus to make access easier. The last phases would then open up a road to the south which Cole said would act as the major entrance closer to the campus’ completion.

The layout also features a commercial element along the western edge where the main entrance to the campus will be located while the area is in development. Cole said that businesses to arise there would be those that could benefit the student population, such as bookstores or child care for adult students.

In terms of timeline for populating the commercial element, Cole said that was harder to pin down when businesses would move in.

Land not being developed at the time of the different phases could be leased as agricultural land or used for undeveloped activity fields, Cole said. 

Clark College Vice President of Administrative Services Bob Williamson also spoke at the Battle Ground event. Williamson, who said he was chair of the vision task force for the Boschma Farms campus, thanked specifically the two partners who helped the college acquire the land.

“Without the generosity of the Boschma family and Ridgefield East, I don’t think we would be standing in front of you today, having these conversations,” Williamson remarked. 

Williamson spoke specifically about the task force assembled for the campus planning. He explained the group, which started having meetings in earnest in March, comprises college faculty, staff and students, foundation staff, local businesses, elected leaders from Ridgefield and Battle Ground and K-12 education partners.

Williamson also commented on the rare opportunity that Clark College has in designing their presence in North Clark County.

“It’s very rare in the life of a college and an institution of higher ed where you are essentially given a blank sheet of paper and told, ‘go ahead and build the campus of your dreams,’” Williamson remarked. “That’s exactly the opportunity that’s in front of Clark College.”