BUTLER TWP — Following the first capital campaign at Butler County Community College, the college in 2000 broke ground on two buildings.

The buildings added to the campus, which has grown from the three original buildings to 20 now.

Here are buildings and other projects that have been done in the past five years at BC3, including a proposed student services building.

The three-story Science, Technology and Cultural Center was designed by DRS Architects.At the entrance, an atrium funnels visitors into The Succop Theater. It seats nearly 450, and has state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems. The building was opened in 2002.The theater's lobby has provided a space for community groups and cultural events. For instance, the Future Business Leaders of America had its competitions at the school in January.The 15 classrooms for natural and applied sciences, technology and drafting are in a separate wing. It is equipped with state-of-the art computers and scientific tools.The center and the Public Safety Training Facility combined cost $17.5 million.

The Public Safety Training Facility, which opened in 2002, includes a classroom building, a fire training tower, a burn building and a pad for equipment training.Firefighters use the facility, the tower and equipment such as a railroad car, tanker truck and a propane fire area for fire training.The facility is managed by a joint operating committee that includes college and representatives of the Butler County fire chiefs.Burtner said the training facility and theater have increased the college's interaction with the community.

The growth in student enrollment has meant more cars parking in the limited space.In the fall 2005 semester, the college opened a 110-space, $225,000 paved parking lot near the public safety training facilities.That also was needed because the Science, Technology and Cultural Center replaced some parking.At 69,000 square feet, the new parking area has helped the campus meet the needs of the students, said Lynn Burtner, vice president for administration and finance.

The college acquired the 50-acre estate of Tom and Jo Ann Succop by donation. The Penn Township property off Route 8 includes a house, cottage, barn, garage and two ponds.TW Phillips Jr. originally owned the estate.Since 2001, the college has created a plan to enhance the property without damaging the environmental benefits.Bill Spiedel, executive director of BC3 Education Foundation, said the driveway and entrance to the main building on the estate were recently updated for $550,000.The next step toward moving the estate from private to public use is renovating a large barn on the estate, Spiedel said.

BC3 plans to build a student services building that would relocate offices scattered around the campus to one central location.The building, which is in the preliminary stages of planning, would have the offices of the registrar, admissions, student tutoring, student life and campus police. It also would include a welcome center and the student bookstore.The space is estimated to be 28,000 square feet.While state funds for this project are undetermined, Burtner said the plan is to begin construction in 2007.The current bookstore is too small to meet the college's needs, said Susan Changnon, BC3 spokeswoman.The new building is needed because the college "needs easy, convenient access," Burtner said, and now these services are in five buildings.Also, the new building would give a better first impression of the college for prospective students with a centralized welcome center and admissions office.