Former Vatterott site in Fairview Heights will be SWIC’s newest campus
A new Southwestern Illinois College campus in Fairview Heights is expected to open for classes in fall 2027 at the former Vatterott College site.
Vatterott College abruptly closed all of its locations, including Fairview Heights, in December 2018. SWIC acquired the buildings at 104 and 110 Commerce Lane in Fairview Heights in spring 2023 for an amount under $100, according to college officials and county property records.
SWIC recently announced that it plans to start a new dental program at the Fairview Heights campus.
A possible massage therapy program is also being considered for the campus, according to Robert Tebbe, SWIC’s chief enrollment development and institutional planning officer.
“We’re definitely pursuing other new programs for the college as a whole, and that’s a really good spot to implement new things,” Tebbe said of the Fairview Heights campus.
Since acquiring the property, a small team of custodians cleaned it up, making upgrades when they could, Tebbe said.
The 18,866-square-foot building at 110 Commerce Lane was built in 1986, and the 50,775-square-foot building at 104 Commerce Lane was built the following year, according to county property records.
SWIC didn’t need any approvals from the city because the site was already zoned for use as a college, according to Fairview Heights Mayor Mark Kupsky.
An occupancy inspection will likely be conducted closer to the college’s opening next year, Kupsky said.
“We’re excited to have them open and operating in the city,” he said.
The announcement about new programs for the Fairview Heights campus comes after multiple other SWIC projects, including the opening of the Career and Technical Education facility in Red Bud earlier this year.
Tebbe said the college is also working on plans to add resources to the police academy program in Belleville and figuring out the next steps for investment opportunities in Granite City.
