Wayne County Community College expanding downtown

DETROIT (WJBK) - Wayne County Community College is planning an expansion that won't just benefit the students. It will be a place for Detroiters to play ball, get healthier and be a part of the community. 

Construction has begun on a massive new, $25 million wellness center on Fort Street. The building will house courses on EMT work, physical therapy, sports medicine and much more. 

"We're talking about occupational therapy, sports medicine, respiratory therapy, and radiology and a number of programs that we support health sciences," says the chancellor of WCCC, Dr. Curtis Ivery. 

The goal is to help teach the next generation of Detroiters who aren't attending a four-year college but deserve an opportunity to compete for these in-demand jobs. 

"The "community" in our name is what it truly stands for. We are a community college ,and that's what we are here for - to serve the community and it's constituents," says vice chancellor Furquan Ahmed. 

The wellness center isn't being planned just for the students; it's for all Detroiters who want to use the facilities. 

"We want to be the beacon of hope for this entire region and we want to complement what's happening in the transformation and the renaissance. So, a lot of students are going to see this beautiful facility and know that they can be a part of it," says Dr. Ivery.

"It's open to the community. If you live down here and there is no other facility, come down here and take advantage of what we're building. It's with your help that we can make this possible. Otherwise we would not even be here," Ahmed says. 

The project is expected to wrap up sometime in 2020. In the meantime, the WCCC basketball players are excited because, until now, they've had to travel from court to court. Now they'll have their own home for the very first time.