Old JCPenney+ACC = world-class math facility

AUSTIN – The former JCPenney store at Highland Mall is being renovated by Austin Community College to house a world-class math emporium, part of a $60 million project.

The 200,000-sf building will include classrooms, a library and congregating spaces for students. Each floor spans more than two acres, allowing for a variety of large-scale uses.

The math emporium, which will cover about 40,000 sf, will be the largest of its kind in the nation. The new design calls for dozens of windows to be punched out of the existing bunker-like concrete and a large skylight to be built into the roof.

The building will be built to pursue LEED Silver certification and should be ready for students for the fall 2014 semester.