By Andrew Roberto
andrew@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
FRANKIE Eliptico, Northern Marianas College’s vice president for administration and advancement, on Thursday led a tour of the nearly completed Proa Union building at NMC’s As Terlaje campus.
Eliptico said the building is approximately 50,000 square feet, three stories tall, and will house the college’s “front-facing programs” and spaces, such as the dining hall, financial aid, the library, Project Proa Center, testing center, and other facilities.
He said Proa Union was funded by a $30 million competitive grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of the Interior-Office of Insular Affairs.
“The building will be the flagship part of the campus and will serve as the primary space for students to gather, meet with friends, work on projects, interact with their instructors about academic plans, meet with tutors, or grab something to eat,” Eliptico said.
Proa Union will also serve as a bus hub for Transit CNMI. The lines serving different parts of the island will converge at the soon-to-be-completed building.
At the time of the tour, contractors were installing light fixtures and putting the final touches on other parts of the building.
Eliptico said the official ribbon cutting for Proa Union will be held today, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. From that point on, the building will only need the delivery of furniture and equipment before office staff can move in — a process expected to be completed between December 2025 and February 2026, he said.
He added that solar panels on the building’s roof will provide around 30% of its power. The building is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, Eliptico said.
Aside from serving student needs, Eliptico said Proa Union will also function as a community gathering space. A third floor mezzanine, overlooking Saipan’s southwest coast with a view of Tinian, can be used for community events, he said. The college also plans to make indoor spaces available for community collaboration. At the campus quad, Eliptico said electrical and sound infrastructure is in place to support large activities, such as Charter Day, the Flame Tree Arts Festival, and Taste of the Marianas, if needed.
Eliptico said the construction of the building encountered numerous challenges, including permitting and labor shortages.
“You name a challenge — we faced it,” he said. “From the very idea — having the audacity to envision a modern facility that brings students together — to being able to build a $30 million building without relying on local funds and competing nationally with other universities for those funds was the first challenge.”
He said he is grateful to college and island leaders for pushing the project forward.
“I’m ecstatic. Despite the challenges we faced, I’m really happy — but more than anything, I’m proud of the work our team did,” Eliptico said. “It was the strength of the team, the college, and the support of past and current governors, the Legislature, and every agency in the CNMI who saw the vision, said ‘let me know how I can help,’ and came through for us.”
Andrew Roberto is an alumnus of Saipan Southern High School, Northern Marianas College, and the University of Guam. He holds a degree in English. He is a published author, a staged playwright, and a former classroom teacher.
