The year 2015 is looking to be a banner one for Tyler Junior College as it prepares to open three new buildings and see enrollment growth.

These facilities include a new residence hall on the main campus, the Energy Center on the West Campus and the Robert M. Rogers Nursing and Health Sciences Center on the main campus.

The TJC board of trustees on Thursday made several decisions regarding these projects, only one of which is under construction now.

The board approved SmithGroup JJR as the architect for the new residence hall slated to open by fall 2015. The local partner will be Fitzpatrick Architects.

They also approved RPR Construction as the construction manager at risk for the Energy Center, slated to open at the same time.

They also discussed the sale of bonds to finance these two projects along with the construction of the nursing and health sciences center. They will vote on the bond sales at later dates.

TJC President Dr. Mike Metke said these projects have the potential to boost the college’s enrollment at a key time in 2015 and ’16, during the middle of a three-semester period that the state considers a “base period” to determine funding for the next biennium.

The college’s financial advisers discussed with board members plans for the issuance of more than $50 million in bonds to fund these projects.

Assuming board approval at a coming meeting, TJC plans to issue $9.78 million in revenue bonds in December to fund the Energy Center’s construction.

These bonds will be bid out to local, regional and national banks for a 15-year term and likely will yield an estimated 3.5 percent interest rate.

The center is a three-story addition that will be made to the Skills Training Center on TJC’s West Campus.

Although the bond monies will pay for the work up front, funds received from tax increment financing (TIF) over a 15-year period will pay back more than $7 million of that debt.

The remaining $2 million in bond debt will fund furniture, fixtures and equipment, items TIF funds cannot be used for. This portion of the debt will be paid back with money from the college’s general fund.

In addition, Sarah Van Cleef, the college’s vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, said the college is seeking donations from its industry partners as well.

The Energy Center, a 51,000-plus-square-foot facility, will feature labs for heating, ventilation and air conditioning training, power plant technology and computers.

It also will have a large assembly room and classrooms, according to information previously provided by the college.

Ms. Van Cleef said although they will construct a third floor, it will not be fully developed and will be available for future use.

In February 2014, TJC plans to issue $40 million in bonds. This includes $25 million in general obligation bonds, which will go toward the nursing and health sciences center, and $15 million in revenue bonds, which will go toward the construction of a new campus dormitory. This set of bonds will be competitively bid on the open market, the college’s financial advisers said.

The dorm is slated to have 250 beds and will be between Magnolia Drive and South Baxter Avenue.

It will be the 10th residence hall on campus counting one that is leased and operated by the Wesley Foundation.

The college routinely has a waiting list of as many as 500 students wanting on-campus housing.

Metke said there are several dorms on campus that should be closed down because of their age, but the college has kept them open because it needs the space.

The construction of this dorm could allow the college to take some of its older dorms offline. In addition, it likely would bring more students to the campus, Metke said.

The bond debt for the dorm would be paid back through student room and board fees for that facility.

With the hiring of SmithGroup JJR as the architect for the dorm, designs will be in the works. The plan is to start construction next year.

The biggest project on campus by far is the nursing and health sciences buildings. The $50 million project, which is being paid for through a combination of public funds, private donations and student user fees, is slated to open in spring 2015.

The 135,000-square-foot facility will allow the college to add programs and expand many of its 11 existing nursing and health sciences programs.

The college plans to open the building with three new programs: physical therapist assistant, certified occupational therapist assistant and wellness and personal fitness specialist. It also will have a dental assistant program.

The new programming is expected to produce 50 percent more graduates in health care fields, going from 600 in 2013 to 900 by 2017, according to previous information released by the college.

Bill King, the college’s executive director of facilities and construction, said the project is going well despite the fact that construction workers have lost 10 of the past 15 days to rain.

The college purchased the Craig’s Pharmacy on South Fleishel Avenue, which initially wasn’t in the plans. King said having this property will help with the design and the aesthetics of the new building.

SmithGroup JJR is the lead architect on the project and has partnered with four local firms. HGR+Turner Joint Venture is the construction manager-at-risk for the center.