Meridian Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the apparent low bidder on a $5.5 million project to construct a 22,000-square-foot addition to a student services building at Spokane Community College, in East Spokane.

Dennis Dunham, Community Colleges of Spokane facilities director, says Meridian Construction is expected to start work in June on the project, which will nearly double the size of the 23,000-square-foot student services facility. The addition will include conference rooms, classroom areas, and space for the Institute for Extended Learning.

Dunham says the college needs the extra classroom and office space, mainly for registration services and to replace the IEL's Hillyard Center, at 4410 N. Market, that's scheduled to be torn down to make room for the North Spokane Corridor, also known as the north-south freeway.

Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, designed the addition, which will adjoin the southeast side of the student services building, located on the northwest side of campus. SCC programs that occupy the building include student admissions, registration, counseling, and other student support services.

The project is expected to be complete by fall 2014, Dunham says. The school is using capital improvement funds of the Community Colleges of Spokane to pay for the project, he says.

Separately, Dunham says CCS is evaluating potential next steps for constructing an early learning center on the Spokane Falls Community College campus, after contractors' bid results that were received this spring came in above the $3 million budget for that facility.

NAC|Architecture, of Spokane, did the design work for the early learning center.