Article by Tacy Brown | Owl Staff
The Chesapeake Welcome Center opened on January 25th, 2026.
On the first week of my spring semester, I toured HCC’s new Chesapeake Welcome Center. It was a great experience, and I loved checking everything out. When you first walk in and turn to the right, there is a long hallway full of conference rooms. There was a cute cafe down the hall when you first walk in that was unfortunately not open yet.
The original building was demolished in the beginning of Fall 2023 and started working on the newer version of the Welcome Center on October 26th, 2023. It was fully completed in Fall 2025 to be open the following year.
The Chesapeake Welcome Center’s new theater holds 429 seats.
The new building comes with a 2,080 square foot Dr. James & Lynne LaCalle Chesapeake Art Gallery, state-of-the art Chesapeake Theater, easily accessible and visible McComas Family Box Office, and walk-up kiosks to assist prospective students and families.
After almost three years of renovations due to the building being built in 1968 and wanting to attract the modern generations of students coming in, the Welcome Center had an open house on January 25th, 2026.
One of my favorite parts of touring the new Welcome Center was viewing the gallery full of amazing artwork done by staff. The gallery is held in a spacious room, and is very aesthetically pleasing to walk through and take pictures. Another room I am very excited to continue exploring is the Chesapeake Theater. “The Wizard of Oz” is playing this March and I am looking forward to watching it live.
Behind the new cafe is the art gallery filled with inspiring pieces.
There was also an upstairs which caught me by surprise considering how large the first floor was. The upstairs holds numerous break rooms, bathrooms, and a tree full of names of the people and organizations that have donated to Harford Community College.
I would encourage any student or staff member to check out the new Welcome Center for yourself. It’s a great place to meet up with friends, have a quick study session, or grab a bite to eat!