Image Courtesy of Heartland Community College’s official website
NORMAL, Ill. – Heartland Community College renovated the first floor of the Workforce Development Center into a student center that will accommodate the needs of their students and the community.
The needs of students now are different to what they were when HCC was originally designed in the late 1990’s. Recent needs of students include hands-on training and career technical education. Public Information Officer Steve Fast shared the modern-day services that the first floor now offers.
“We have a lot of our student services on the first floor of what will eventually become the student center in the WDC. That includes the Veteran’s Center, the Multicultural Lounge, the Career Center, the Testing Center, student leadership, student engagement, the bookstore, food services, the Hawk Cafe, and a game room. Those are all in one place,” Fast said.
The first floor of the WDC is now a place where students can access academic services, relax their minds, and grab a bite to eat. Fast explains the reasoning for the renovations and how they will impact the community.
“All of these projects that we’re moving forward with not only serve our students and contribute to their success and their ability to reach their academic goals, but those students then go forth into our community and have a major part in driving our economy and helping to feed into the workforce to do things that you would expect for a great community like Bloomington-Normal to have.”
The HCC Board of Trustees will consider the second-floor renovation plan in the spring of 2026.