Roughly six weeks after officially backing out of an agreement to have an Advanced Technology Center built off-campus, College of the Canyons is looking at starting the process of having one built on-campus.  On Wednesday, the Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees, which oversees COC, is set to approve preliminary design services for a facility to be built on the college’s Valencia campus. A specific location has not been selected, according to Eric Harnish, spokesman for the college.  By having the facility on-campus, Harnish said it would be more accessible to students and would be better located to the nearby industrial and commerce centers.  The college has been looking at exploring other options after backing out of spending $22 million to have Intertex build a 30,000-square-foot facility that, upon further review, would have cost $38 million to meet industry demands. The additional $16 million would have been for building out the inside of the facility, as college officials have said that the original deal was just for the building shell.  Rather than do that, the board cut ties with the developer, paying $10 million for the project plans and land, located at 26650 Valley Center Drive, just west of Golden Valley Road and north of Soledad Canyon Road. The deal included $2.2 million in profit for the developer.  Board President Edel Alonso said at the Sept. 25 meeting that saw the deal nixed that the previous administration was not transparent about the true cost of the project, nor did the board know that the facility was only set to be built to roughly a third of the size of what the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers recommended in its 2019 report.  That report was not provided to the board prior to any discussion or votes being cast when the original ATC deal was approved in May 2023, Alonso said.  A full-size ATC facility should be 111,000 square feet and the expected cost in 2019 for it would have been $50 million, according to the 2019 report. Harnish said the idea is to have a larger facility with more programs.  David Andrus, interim president of the college, said the ATC project is a top priority as the college looks to further its advancements in helping students become better equipped to enter the workforce.  The project was set to be funded, and still is expected to be, through Measure E, a $230 million general obligation bond that was approved by voters in 2016 for facilities upgrades. There is currently just under $100 million left in that bond fund.  In nixing the previous deal, the college paid for the land and plans with general fund money that could be reimbursed from Measure E if a project that fits the requirements of the measure is approved for that site within 18 months, according to Jason Hinkle, associate vice president of business services.  While college officials continue to work on the permanent facility, the board is also expected Wednesday to approve an extension of the lease for the interim facility located at 26306 Diamond Place. The 13,516-square-foot facility is set to be leased through the 2027-28 school year for between $20,500 and $21,986 per year, with funding set to come from the Strong Workforce Program.  Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting is set to begin at 5 p.m. in room 301 at the COC University Center, located at 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road.  The post COC expected to start process for on-campus ATC  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.