The College of Marin in Marin County, Calif., is building a $5.2 million marine biology and science laboratory at Bolinas Lagoon.
The Marin Independent Journal reports that the Bolinas Field Station is scheduled to open in 2025.
Shuttered in 2005 because of deterioration and unsafe conditions, the lab was a problem for the college because of its potential for financial drain and liability risks. Its myriad vulnerabilities included mold, decay, structural deficiencies and proximity to an earthquake fault.
By 2017, the college was considering declaring the former U.S. Coast Guard facility as surplus property and unloading it. But a protest by faculty members and science lovers spurred officials to reconsider.
In 2019, the college hired architects to design a new center. The old building was demolished in 2021.
The marine center will be one of the few coastal biology labs run by a California community college. One other such lab in Northern California is at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
