The dealership closed last month as General Motors nears the end of a planned phase-out of the Oldsmobile line. With the new acquisition, Baker College of Clinton Township will increase in size from 21 acres to 34 acres. Baker's Clinton Township campus has an enrollment of more than 4,500 students and is one of the largest campuses in the Baker College system, Michigan's largest private college. Torline says the enrollment at the college could reach 5,000 by the fall.
The creation of the new technology center is part of a larger vision by Torline and Baker to expand the local college. The college recently announced plans to build a general-purpose classrooom building on about six acres it owns on Quinn Road, just east of Gratiot. Torline says those plans will be pushed back to focus on the technology center.
Torline tells GlobeSt.com Baker envisions connecting its three existing campus locations in Clinton Township and creating, depending on demand, student dormitories on the campus, perhaps four or five years down the road. When complete the new center will offer:
* A 10,000-sf admissions center. Annette Looser, vice president of admissions for Baker, says exposure on Gratiot should have an effect on the number of potential students who contact Baker. "We're very excited about not only the location, but all the extra space we are going to have," she says. The existing admissions area on the 15 Mile Road location will be retrofitted to make way for five or six classrooms.
* Seven or eight classrooms, which is the only portion of the new property to be ready for the opening of the fall term. The remainder of the project is to be open by September 2005.
* An automotive technology center. The center will allow Baker to train certified automotive mechanics and related skills.
* An emergency medical services training center, which will include ambulance bays where ambulance can pull in and deliver "patients."
* An interior design area, where Baker will expand its program to include specialized training on designing kitchens and bathrooms.
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