Before the College of Marin demolished its marine laboratory in Bolinas in 2021, science professor Joe Mueller spent weeks gathering boxes containing decades of research on the Bolinas Lagoon and Duxbury Reef, not knowing when such research would resume. “It was my home away from home,” he said. “I spent about a month taking every last specimen, paper and instrument and filing them into boxes.” With the approval of state and county permits in January, the college will break ground on its new lab in July. A fundraiser is planned for April 30 at Audubon Canyon Ranch. The new lab, nestled between two major hubs of environmental activity—the lagoon and the reef—will facilitate the up-close, hands-on education that thrived at the site for over four decades. When it opens in 2024 in time for the college’s winter term, the program will be expanded and the facility upgraded to accommodate future youth programs with Audubon Canyon and the Bolinas-Stinson School. “This project is a one-of-a-kind facility for any community college in America,” said Bolinas resident Kent Khtikian, who has worked as a liaison for the project. “When it was in operation, it inspired students to continue their education in science.” The century-old lifesaving station-turned-marine lab was demolished after years of disuse and an infestation of mold. Mr. Mueller said that from the beginning, the project’s leaders have prioritized community input, which resulted in changes to the proposed building’s architectural profile. The whale-bone-colored facility will blend into its setting at the foot of the Little Mesa and the Bolinas Lagoon. The building’s modern design features two distinct spaces that are portioned off, one holding offices, bathrooms and storage and the other labs and classrooms. The two sections will have different sheathing, Mr. Khtikian said.  In response to community feedback, the fencing was eliminated and public street parking areas will be maintained. Six off-street parking spaces and one handicapped space are also included in the design; whether these spaces will be available for the public has yet to be decided. The project’s price tag is $5.4 million, $2 million of which was covered by Measure B bond monies. Keith Rosenthal, the college’s director of advancement, was tasked to fundraise the $2.4 million gap. On his fifth phone call, he was referred to a West Marin resident who ultimately donated $1 million. “I’ve been fundraising for 20 years, and that kind of thing just doesn’t happen,” he said. Mr. Rosenthal raised another $1 million from local donors and foundations. Now, with just $475,000 to go, the Jay Pritzker Foundation has pledged to help close the campaign with a $250,000 match once the college makes the campaign public. A bid for the construction contract will go out in the next month.