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PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP – Area residents got a firsthand look at Owens Community College’s new Veterans Hall during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 2. Owens representatives were joined by community leaders and public officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Veterans Hall on the Toledo-area Campus, 30335 Oregon Road, Perrysburg. Individuals had the opportunity to tour the newly renovated facility, as well as learn about various services offered to veterans at Owens. Veterans Hall, formally Kingsley Hall, was part of the Penta Career Center campus acquired by Owens Community College for $6 million in 2008 when Penta relocated west of I-75 along Buck Road. The purchase included more than 50 acres of land and three primary buildings, including Founders Hall and Heritage Hall. Renovations of the 19,000-square foot Veterans Hall cost $2.1 million, with the first phase of construction completed in March 2017 and the second phase finished in October 2017. The circular drive surrounding Veterans Hall was named “Mike McAlear Way” on May 3, 2017 following a generous donation to the Owens Community College Foundation in support of veterans programming by Mike McAlear, then a member of the Owens Community College Board of Trustees. The drive includes two reserved parking spaces for recipients of a Purple Heart, the decoration awarded to those wounded while serving with the U.S. military. The signature development of the two-story Veterans Hall is a 1,700-square foot addition to the building’s east side that formed a new entrance and glass-enclosed atrium. The first floor houses the offices of Veterans Services and Counseling Services, as well as a lounge dedicated for use by veterans in the Veterans Center, plus a computer lab, conference room and meeting room. The second- floor renovation created a tiered, multipurpose event space that includes a lobby, restrooms, small catering space and updated audio/visual equipment. The Veterans Hall design emphasizes energy efficiency and conservation, evidenced by each room’s bank of lights automatically powering down after a period without detected movement. Glass windows are abundant within the atrium addition to reduce the necessity for some electric lighting and to allow in natural light. The entire facility includes building automation heating and air conditioning as well as wireless Internet access. Stough and Stough Architects of Sylvania, Ohio designed Veterans Hall. Van Tassel Construction Corporation of Sylvania, Ohio served as the general contractor. For more information about the Owens Community College Office of Veterans Services, please visit www.owens.edu/veterans. Owens Community College has served Northwest Ohio since 1965 as an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education with an open-door admission policy. With a commitment to providing small classes, personal attention and unmatched affordability, the College serves the diverse academic needs of credit and non-credit students on the Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses, as well as the Owens Community College Downtown Learning Center. Owens offers associate degrees in the Arts and Sciences and technical program areas in Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Skilled Trades, and Engineering and Transportation Technologies. Owens Community College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and has 54 programs that are accredited through their own discipline-specific accrediting bodies. For more information, visit www.owens.edu.