1. CWI campus expansion detail

NAMPA, Idaho — Agriculture buildings and a farm are part of the College of Western Idaho’s expansion plan for its 100-acre main campus.

Utility line extension, bridge foundation and preliminary earth work are underway on the approximately $25 million Horticulture and Agricultural Science building, north of the main academic building on Cherry Lane.

The building project is paid for by the legislature and campus development funds. Completion is expected in summer 2025.

The 40-acre ag complex will have two academic buildings, two greenhouses and a working farm as well as labs, flexible-use classrooms and student group and common areas.

“Close proximity to the agricultural community to support collaboration and community events” will be a feature of the complex, to be home to “modern facilities supporting horticulture and agricultural science programs,” according to CWI.

Horticulture and landscape design programs are to be housed in the facility, to have 38,000 square feet of building and lab space including a meat and animal science lab, floral lab and a store.

Enrollment in agriculture and horticulture programs has increased 10-20% in the past several years, Andrea Schumaker, who chairs the Department of Agricultural Sciences, told Capital Press.

The new complex “will allow for expansion and growth within our programs” and capacity to serve more students, she said.

Agriculture careers offer “some of the top jobs within the Treasure Valley, where those opportunities are also seeing a lot of growth and demand for qualified graduates,” Schumaker said.

The school has programs in horticulture, animal science, agricultural business leadership and education, and fermentation science.

Student interest is strong in animal science and horticulture programs, Schumaker said. Horticulture — now based in east Boise — encompasses landscape maintenance, irrigation, design, urban agriculture, and plant and soil sciences.

“With the Treasure Valley experiencing massive growth, the need for qualified individuals to design and maintain those spaces is also on the rise,” she said.

Other ag programs “have largely been supported by our industry partners because we didn’t have a physical location on campus,” Schumaker said. “While our stakeholders have helped ensure our program success, it’s exciting to know we’ll have a facility on campus to train and educate our students, making them feel more a part of the CWI community.”

CWI also started work on a Health and Science Building, for which site preparation and installation of foundation elements are underway west of the main academic building. That project will include an enclosed 50,000 square feet plus 10,000 unfinished for future development. Microbiology and biology are among programs to be housed there. Completion is expected in the summer of 2025.

Also in the summer of 2025, CWI expects to start construction of a 35,000-square-foot Student Learning Hub.

Enrollment exceeds 30,000 at the community college, founding of which was approved by Ada and Canyon county voters in May 2007.