Midland College Moves Forward on Expansions

By Eric Althoff

MIDLAND, Tex.—General contracting firm Adolfson & Peterson Construction has been tapped by Midland College to expand its West Texas campus’s teaching facilities. In addition to training future teachers as part of its new Early Childhood Education bachelor’s degree program, the college is also expanding the school’s existing Pre-Kindergarten Academy.

In a new two-story, 60,000-square-foot building, the Pre-K Academy will expand the number of young students it can host from 68 to 288. The facility will address a dearth of early-education opportunities in this area of the Lone Star State.

“The Midland College Pre-K Academy and Center for Teaching Excellence addresses two major challenges facing our community—a shortage of quality early childhood opportunities and a shortage of teachers,” Midland College President Dr. Steve Thomas said of the work going on at the campus. “This project is evidence of Midland College’s commitment to providing education and training that help our community grow and prosper.”

Funding for the educational complex at Midland College includes a $10 million gift courtesy of the Permian Strategic Partnership and an additional $10 million from the Scharbauer Foundation. As of press time, the project is 90 percent funded.

Adolfson & Peterson is working in concert with architecture and engineering firm Parkhill on the project, which is projected to open for the fall of 2023. A rendering released by Parkhill shows a playground area for children just outside of the future college building.

“It is a treat to break ground on a project that will ultimately guide the teachers who will enrich the lives of children every day in the classroom,” Lucas Hubbard, Adolfson & Peterson’s project executive, said in a recent statement about the groundbreaking. “It is a calling to instruct children, and our team is proud to build an incredible facility for them.”

Parkhill, which has several offices throughout Texas, previously worked at Midland College on the 18,600-square-foot June and Frank Cowden, Jr. Dining Hall, which was an expansion to the Scharbauer Student Center. That project was completed in 2020.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction offers preconstruction, construction and contracting services in several sectors in the educational sector and beyond. The company has been quite active in the Texas educational sphere for some time, with other school-related work in the state entailing projects at the University of Texas, the Arlington ISD Arts and Athletics Complex in Arlington, and several buildings at Fort Worth ISD. The firm’s central Texas office is also hard at work on a range of projects for the Northside ISD.

“It isn’t every day that we have the opportunity to make an impact on the future of America,” said the contractor’s project executive, Hubbard.