Oregon Coast Community College is celebrating the opening of its first East County Center with a public ribbon cutting celebration from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 at the former Arcadia School building in Toledo.
For most of its 40-year history, the college has served the Oregon coast through locations in Waldport, Newport and Lincoln City. The new East County Center marks the college’s first permanent presence in Toledo, made possible through a partnership with the Lincoln County School District, which owns the building.
The Arcadia School building saw its last regular instructional use during the Covid pandemic, when LCSD teachers used the facility to stream online class content and hybrid opportunities to students.
Its transformation into a community college center is intended to give the building new life serving East County students and residents, the college said in a news release. OCCC is working on furnishings and outfitting classroom spaces with equipment ahead of the fall term but some classes are already scheduled to begin this fall, including Math for Welders and an introductory lineup of community education offerings.
Future offerings at the East County Center, 1811 N.E. Arcadia Drive, will be determined by community interest and may include basic skills courses, traditional credit courses for degree- and certificate-seeking students, and Small Business Development Center workshops, classes and events.
“Turning this building into an East County home for higher education means more of our neighbors in Toledo, Siletz, and Eddyville will have a college location closer to home — and that’s exactly the kind of collaboration that moves our region forward,” OCCC president Marshall Mease Roache said in a news release.
