Irvine Valley College has debuted its long-awaited $61 million Arts Village.
The three-building development is the largest addition in years to Irvine’s primary community college, which as of last year served about 5,600 full-time students and an additional 6,100 part-time students.
The nearly 62,000-square-foot village adds a permanent home to IVC’s School of the Arts, and includes space for studio arts, art history, music, digital media art, interactive media arts and dance classes, among other uses.
It officially opened for instruction on the first day of spring semester on Jan. 13.
“This is bringing together a centralized hub for all our arts which was previously spread out throughout campus,” President John Hernandez told the Business Journal.
The Arts Village is part of IVC’s plan to create opportunities for new programs within the School of the Arts. IVC last year hired a full-time faculty member to develop the first-ever sculpture and ceramics classes in the visual arts building.
The school also recently added a new associate degree in interactive media arts focusing on gaming design production and management. Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc., which has roughly 2,000 area workers following a recent layoff, has for years been the largest software company in Orange County by employee count.
Its headquarters are a few miles away from IVC, and the area has numerous other notable gaming firms.
Hernandez said he believes the $61 million investment in the Arts Village will help IVC become a “more viable option” to local high school students.
“It’s going to create a continued pathway for high school students who are interested in the arts,” Hernandez said.
18-Year Vision
The Arts Village consists of three buildings dedicated to music and dance, visual arts and fine arts and gallery.
It was built by McCarthy Building Cos. and DLR Group.
The Arts Village is IVC’s most expensive construction project to date and was funded by the South Orange County Community College District (SOCCD) and the state of California.
In 2021, its original budget was cited as $44 million; the boost in its cost was due to state funds not being included in the project cost estimate.
The vision for the Arts Village has been in the school’s master plan since 2006, long before Hernandez was appointed president in 2020.
“It has finally come to fruition,” Hernandez said.
Construction began in fall 2021 and was completed around last December.
The Arts Village sits next to the school’s Performing Arts Center on top of what used to be a vacant dirt lot.
The largest building in the Arts Village is the 32,549-square-foot music and dance building.
Some features of the building include music classrooms, two dance studios and a music library.
The school said it invested $1.2 million in 19 Steinway & Sons pianos for the music department, making IVC an All-Steinway designated school.
“This prestigious recognition makes us stand out with top music departments on the West Coast,” Hernandez said.
The second largest of the new buildings is the visual arts building, measuring 20,617 square feet, which houses classrooms for painting, drawing, sculpture and ceramics.
Directly across from the visual arts building is the 8,685-square-foot fine arts and gallery building.
While it will primarily serve as a gallery to showcase both student and visiting art exhibits, the building also has a recital hall that seats 150 people.
Upcoming Projects
The school expects to break ground on two more buildings next spring.
IVC is building a new student union and student services center that are slated to be completed in spring 2027.
Both projects are being funded by SOCCD, and will cost a combined $101.7 million, according to Hernandez.
The upcoming student union building is anticipated to be 25,000 square feet and will be a space for student activity with a lounge, kitchen and café and indoor dining area that can hold up to 200 people.
“It’s similar to what you might find at a four-year university,” Hernandez said.
Clubs and organizations such as the student government will also be in the student union.
The new student services building will be a little under 50,000 square feet and assist students with admission and records, financial aid, counseling and more.
It will replace the current center that’s nearly 20 years old, Hernandez said.
He hopes the new center becomes a “one-stop shop” for students.
Once both buildings are completed, the school will demolish the existing student services center and build a large outdoor space capable of seating 3,000 people for graduation, according to the school’s website.
