Bitterroot College University of Montana opened at its new location at 103 S. 9th St. in Hamilton on Tuesday, August 18. The new location – in the Westview Building known for its expansive views of the Bitterroot Mountains – is owned by the Hamilton School District.
Bitterroot College UM, formerly located at the Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center on Old Corvallis Road, signed a five-year lease for use of the Westview Building.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” said BC Director Victoria “Tory” Clark. “Our new home should boost enrollment and allow for the continuing growth of our institution.”
BC and the Hamilton School District partnered to upgrade and remodel much of the 1960s-era building as part of the lease agreement. The college’s new 17,000-square-foot space is more than three times the size of the college’s former location and allows for an expanded computer lab, science lab, art studio, learning center and multiple small lecture classrooms.
The area that served as the gymnasium while the building was the Hamilton Middle School will function as a student study and gathering space. BC will share part of its new space with the building’s two other tenants, Ravalli County Early Head Start and Hamilton High School’s Alternative Learning Center.
Classes will start at the new location on August 31. Anyone interested in enrolling or learning more about the college is encouraged to call 375-0100 or visit http://www.umt.edu/bitterroot-college.