A groundbreaking for a $17.5 million expansion of Malcolm X College’s West Campus in Austin is set for Thursday.The event will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday at the former West Side Learning Center, 4624 W. Madison St.Originally billed at $9.5 million, the expansion will include a 3,000-square-foot Community Center for Training and Learning, which would increase student capacity on the satellite campus by 50% to 2,000, while also serving as an events space. It comes as all seven City Colleges have seen an increase in enrollment, with a nearly 17% increase at Malcolm X College for the fall of 2024. Renderings of the Community Center for Teaching and Learning at Malcolm X College. The center will provide more space for students and the community.Provided The state is picking up at least $5 million of the bill, and City Colleges will largely cover the rest.It’s the second of a three-phase expansion plan for the campus that mostly serves nursing students. The first phase started in 2018 when biology labs and updated furnishings were added at a cost of $5 million.“We wanted to ensure that the facility matched the quality of the education that we are providing,” David Sanders, president of Malcolm X College, told the Sun-Times when the project was announced in 2023.Contributing: David Struett