BUTLER TWP — Mercer County officials have given Butler County Community College the go ahead to build at the college campus in Hermitage.

Mercer County Commissioners Monday approved the plans to renovate existing campus space and to construct a second building and a parking lot, the college announced Monday.

The project is funded by the BC3 Education Foundation. The college has signed a lease with the foundation for the buildings at LindenPointe.

"The Foundation is pleased to embark on a project that is a win-win for both the College and Foundation," said Sue Bennitt, Chair of the BC3 Foundation Board. "But most importantly we will benefit students who seek to further their education at an affordable and accessible campus."

The existing 4,000-square-foot location was leased in 2004 to accommodate 80 to 100 students. The new building will have more than 20,000 square feet of space and include five general classrooms, two computer lab classrooms, a biology-anatomy and physiology lab, a conference room and faculty support space.

This semester, 326 Mercer County residents are taking classes at BC3, up 99 from this time last year.