STLCC Breaks Ground on Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at Florissant Valley

St. Louis Community College completed a second STLCC Transformed milestone Wednesday with the groundbreaking of the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley.

The last time a building was added to campus was 2011, when the old Circuit City store was reimagined as the Center for Workforce Innovation.

Approximately 100 people gathered for the much-anticipated event at 3400 Pershall Road, in Ferguson, including government officials, health care leaders, community members and STLCC stakeholders. 

Elizabeth Gassel Perkins, Ed.D., campus president and chief academic officer of STLCC-Florissant Valley, welcomed guests.

"You can see from the renderings around you that the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences building is magnificent! It will stretch approximately 100,000 square feet and is similar in design and scope to the health sciences facility at STLCC-Forest Park."

KAI Enterprises is the architect for the four-story center, which will be taller than any other structure on campus. Navigate Building Solutions is the project’s construction manager, and PARIC Corporation will build the facility. Completion is expected by the end of 2024.

Jeff L. Pittman, Ph.D., chancellor of St. Louis Community College, thanked voters for making the improvements possible. 

"In May, we held the groundbreaking for Wildwood’s Center for Health Sciences and Technology, and following today’s groundbreaking, the College will move forward with four additional buildings and substantial renovations at our other campuses. Together, these projects are part of STLCC Transformed, which is a nearly half-billion-dollar initiative that aims to modernize facilities and programming to meet the job training and retraining demands of Missouri. I have to say thank you, because it was the generous support of taxpayers who voted to approve Proposition R in 2021," he said. 

To put the massive scale and cost of the center’s construction into perspective, STLCC-Florissant Valley’s Training Center opened in 1998 with a price tag of $2.5 million. 

The CNHS is projected to cost $61.97 million and will boast a simulation-based learning environment to ensure STLCC students hit the ground running as they enter the workforce. Its construction will prioritize natural light, technology integration and flexibility.

The structure will give STLCC-Florissant Valley room to expand its dental hygiene, medical assisting, nursing, paramedic technology, patient care technician, radiologic technology and respiratory care programs. The building will also house the campus's existing behavioral health support, deaf communications studies and emergency medical technology programs.

Jordan Cooper, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, division dean of nursing, is looking forward to the return on investment the center represents to the College and community. 

"I couldn't be more thrilled to see this new state-of-the-art facility coming to the Florissant Valley campus. STLCC prides itself on providing a premier student experience, and this building will afford our students a learning environment that accurately simulates today’s high-tech health care field," he said. 

"The programming that will be housed here will not only support the training of much-needed registered nurses and health science professionals, but it will also bring affordable, low-cost dental services to the north St. Louis County community as well as a new licensed practical nursing certificate program to open tentatively in 2025."

Watch video of the Florissant Valley groundbreaking.

Florissant Valley CNHS Building Highlights

Name: Center for Nursing and Health Sciences
Anticipated Completion: End of 2024
Size: 100,000 square feet
Architect: KAI Enterprises
Construction Manager: Navigate Building Solutions
Contractor: PARIC Corp.
Estimated Cost: $61.97 million

Key Offerings

• Home to the College's first bachelor's degree, a Bachelor of Science in respiratory care.
• Expanded capacity for STLCC's dental hygiene, nursing and radiology technology programs.
• State-of-the-art equipment and simulator labs to prepare students for careers in emergency medical technology and paramedic technology.
• Behavioral health support and deaf communications studies programs to support the holistic aspects of health care and patients with additional needs.
• Dedicated areas for students to study, eat and hang out, including an outdoor plaza.