There have always been a lot of little reasons to go to a community college. More economical. Closer to home. Smaller classes.

For folks considering College of The Albemarle, there’s now one huge new reason to make that choice: a sparkling $18.5 million building on the main drag in Manteo that gives the COA Dare Campus some serious clout and curb appeal.

“You can’t miss this building,” Dean Tim Sweeney says. “It’s not just the old-school red brick building.”

Inside or out. Packed with technology and creature comforts at every turn, the new

COA campus on Highway 64 gives North Carolina’s oldest community college impressive new digs when students start the fall semester there in August.

College of The Albemarle also has Elizabeth City, Currituck, and Edenton-Chowan campuses. Sweeney says that the Dare campus has more than 600 students in traditional classes and another 1,100 or so in short-term training or Continuing Education programs. Currently, most of those students complete their courses on Russell Twiford Road in a functional but dated and out-of-the-way space.

By contrast, the new building sits just across the street from the Piggly Wiggly and other shops and a stone’s throw from scenic Shallowbag Bay. It’s in the middle of the community, and Sweeney wants to make sure COA is in the middle of as many community events as possible. June’s Dare Days, for instance, will feature two bands, food trucks, and games on the COA lawn for kids and their parents.

“We’ve never had a campus with activities and stuff like that,” Sweeney says. “My plan is to have as many activities as possible for our students but also for the community.”

Several community institutions went out of their way to help make the new building a special place. TowneBank Commons greets visitors with an expansive and welcoming entrance. Exposed beams help give the building a rustic feel, while strips of LED lights in the walls of the common area slowly change colors and provide modern flair.

There’s the Student Success Center, sponsored by Twiddy & Company, with computers, high-definition televisions, office space for financial aid and academic advisers, and a workforce development center. In addition, Southern Bank has sponsored a tutoring room on the first floor across from the Jane and Sterling Webster III Hospitality Classroom and the You Can Fly Classroom by Kitty Hawk Kites.

The centerpiece of the first floor is from an anonymous donor who requested the room be called the Veterans Memorial Lecture Hall. The space can have four rows of desks to accommodate 48 or so students or include some 70 folks if just chairs are put out.

needs. Design features such as the wood-paneled accenting also make it an attractive spot Sweeney says would be great for TED Talk-style events.

The first-floor lecture halls also have great storage for equipment used for Basic Law Enforcement Training and EMT certification courses.

The only scary thing about the space? A dividing wall that adds flexibility to the room is cleverly made of whiteboard material that can be used for instruction … as long as ONLY dry erase markers find their way into the classroom.

“The only thing I worry about is if somebody has a permanent magic marker,” Sweeney says with a elaugh. “I’m gonna frisk you before you come in.”

Making his way up the stairs, Sweeney pauses at the top of the second floor for another joke: “Right here. I was hoping this was gonna be my office – I asked the president if I could put a table right here at the top of the stairwell looking out.”

He’s got a point. While getting work done in such a high-traffic area might be a challenge, the view of Shallowbag Bay just across the street is spectacular.

So, too, is the view down the hall, where a unique, artistic fixture provides light while beckoning visitors toward the next classroom spaces with its flowing design.  “This whole new modern lamp, it took 22 workers to put this sucker up,” Sweeney says. “It’s all in one piece.”

A chemistry, biology, and physics lab includes all the bells and whistles with lab stations, prep areas for professors, and more high-tech audio/visual equipment for any online coursework needs. The Warren Judge computer lab includes push-button monitors that can slide below the desktops and turn the 27-seat computer lab into an everyday classroom. There’s another computer lab just like it down the hall.

The Outer Banks Hospital Nursing Lab is set up with six beds in a realistic setting – privacy curtains, high-def monitors, storage for all that equipment – and an observation room with a one-way mirror that lets students be evaluated in as natural a setting as possible.

Faculty offices and two large general-purpose classrooms round out the second floor. The centerpiece is an attractive lounge area with spaces to hang out or study both inside and outside. A balcony overlooks the grassy expanse below.

“This balcony is just kind of a game-changer for college kids,” Sweeney says. “It’s my hope as a dean that students are going to want to stay on campus.”

To the left of the lawn on what will soon be a college “quad” of sorts is the professional arts building. It’s 13 years old but got a major facelift on the outside to match the new building, plus nice touches like a new chiller on the inside as part of this expansion project. The professional arts building houses welding, HVAC, pottery and jewelry making, and electrical and plumbing programs.

And directly across from the new building is where Phase 2 will be located. Sweeney explains that the Dare County Board of Commissioners has set aside $10-to-$12 million for another facility that could house everything from an auditorium to a culinary building to whatever else officials deem best suited for the campus.

“The future’s bright for this community,” Sweeney says.

Especially for local students. Dare County high school graduates can attend COA and earn their associate degree for free, thanks to the Dare Guarantee Scholarship and its $250,000 funding from the Commissioners.

Katie Cross, who has worked with incoming COA students for the past seven and a half years, serves as the new Director of Advising and Student Success. She sees this new space encouraging students to take a long look at COA for their college options.

“I think the new building combined with the Dare Guarantee Scholarships makes it a very attractive opportunity available for students,” Cross says. “You can go to school for free in a nice new building.”

One of Cross’ favorite aspects of the new building is what several students also have oohed and aahed over during tours: the cozy chairs and various spaces that give students a reason to be part of the “community” college experience and not just race for the parking lot when class ends.

been slowly moving gear from their old offices to the new.

On the bottom floor on the side adjacent to Highway 64, the library was in great shape for the ribbon-cutting ceremony in April that brought some 350 people together to celebrate the building. Patti Peterson is looking forward to her space buzzing with activity, especially with the downstairs lounge and stairs just outside the library doors.

“This space is not a typical library in the sense that it’s not going to be very quiet. I feel like it’s going to have more of a Barnes & Noble kind of vibe to it,” she says. “We want people in here. We want them visiting.”

That, of course, is the goal for Sweeney, COA President Dr. Jack Bagwell, and everyone else on the Dare Campus – emphasizing and celebrating the “community” in this community college.

“It’s been something we’ve been waiting for, and we’ve been excited about for a while,” Cross says. “This is just an environment that invites them to stay and embrace the college community feel.”