Central Oregon Community College is preparing to remodel Grandview Hall on its Bend campus, converting space that formerly housed the school’s culinary program into three new classrooms and office space for math faculty.

School officials in late February applied for a building permit with the city of Bend for the remodeling project.

The culinary program moved into the Jungers Culinary Center when it opened in fall 2011. School officials have since discussed how to best put Grandview’s large, empty kitchen space to good use, said Rick Hayes, COCC’s project manager for construction.

They decided on a plan to consolidate the math department’s roughly 40 teachers and support staff into one place, and create three additional classrooms for math courses.

“We want to be able to put everyone in the math department into that once space,” instead of being spread across campus as they currently are, Hayes said. The project will also remodel the restrooms in Grandview, making them more accessible to handicapped students and staff.

Officials hopes to start renovation work in April, which would let faculty move in over the summer and in time for the start of fall term, Hayes said.

He declined to disclose the exact cost of renovations, saying the project was still in the bidding process. The permit filed with the city lists the project value at $700,000.

The remodeling plans come amid a flurry of building activity at the school in recent years, at its Bend campus and across Central Oregon. COCC debuted new science and health careers buildings in September that had a combined cost of $35.9 million, according to The Bulletin’s archives. A 2009 bond paid for much of the construction costs, said Matt McCoy, the school’s vice president for administration.

Savings on construction of the science and health buildings could pay for some of the Grandview work, he said.

One of the school’s biggest changes, meanwhile, is still in planning stages: construction of a 326-bed residence hall west of the athletic field, valued at roughly $22 million. It would replace the aging, 101-bed Juniper Hall, which would likely be converted into a different, undetermined use, McCoy said.

The school hopes to start construction in early 2014, putting the project on track for completion by fall 2015.