California Construction News staff writer
Construction of the new Palm Springs campus for College of the Desert has reached a key milestone with the topping out of the Accelerator building, the centerpiece of the 27-acre campus scheduled to open in spring 2027.
C.W. Driver Companies is serving as the construction manager/general contractor.
Project partners recently celebrated the topping out ceremony, marking the placement of the final structural beam for the two-story building, which will serve as the main academic and student services hub for the new campus.
Also known as the Acceleration Building, the site is designed as a multipurpose innovation centre that will house programs in digital media and arts, healthcare, architecture and media production. The facility will include high-tech learning laboratories, maker spaces, flexible classrooms and production facilities such as a podcast studio, television studio, film screening room and radio station.
The building features a distinctive structural design using steel-cast nodes shaped like tree trunks to support the structure while visually connecting indoor and outdoor spaces.
Construction on the Palm Springs campus began with a groundbreaking in late 2024. The topping out ceremony in February 2026 marks the completion of the building’s structural framework and signals the transition toward interior work and building systems installation.
The project is being designed with sustainability goals that include targeting LEED Gold certification and operating as an all-electric campus.
When completed, the campus is expected to expand access to higher education and workforce training in the Coachella Valley, supporting programs aligned with regional industries and creative sectors.
