Olympic College recently took another step toward enhancing the educational experience of its students and staff.

A May 8 ceremony marked the groundbreaking of an 83,000-square-foot humanities and student services building at the Bremerton campus.

“This truly is a monumental day for Olympic College,” OC president David Mitchell said, speaking to a crowd of local and state dignitaries on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking.

Funded by $3.5 million from the 2005 state Legislature for the design, with the remaining $25 million for construction coming from the 2007 Legislature, the building is expected to be completed in 18-20 months.

It will join the recently built science-technology building — opened in 2007 — as only the second new instructional building constructed on the campus in the past 40 years.

Described as “state-of-the-art” by state Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D-Bainbridge Island), the building will offer technology classrooms, faculty offices, lecture rooms and halls, tutoring centers and instructional program labs, among others.

“We will stand together to enhance your future and our future, collectively,” Rockefeller said, referring to the Legislature’s commitment to education in Kitsap County. “This is the only game in town, as far as higher education is concerned.”

Centrally located on the campus, the building figures to concentrate student service activity as well as provide the humanities department with new classrooms and learning tools.

The humanities department has been located in a building built in 1959, originally designed to be an elementary school.

Citing the work of the community to make the project possible, and OC’s standing as one of Bremerton’s prominent locations, Mitchell said the building will serve both students and community members.

“This will be the community’s building,” he said.