14 Aug 2017 UACCM board tours site

As construction continues on the 53,000-square-foot Workforce Training Center project, several members of the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton Foundation Board recently toured the site after the board’s quarterly meeting. The Foundation Board has been the primary source of private fundraising for the building since its conception.  

Tim Riley, a grants coordinator for U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), also visited the site on Aug. 1. Riley provided support from Boozman’s office during the application process and regularly visits the WTC site to see the progress being made. With his help, a $1.1 million Economic Development Administration investment from the U.S. Department of Commerce was granted to UACCM in September 2014 for site preparation and infrastructure improvements to support the project.

As of Aug. 7, sheetrock is being installed in Building C, which will house the HVAC and Industrial Mechanics & Maintenance Technology labs. Bricking and roofing on all of the buildings is nearly complete, and all of the concrete floors that require polishing have been polished.

The WTC project, located on the west end of UACCM’s campus, brings together technical training programs, UACCM workforce development and an adaptable training space for new and existing businesses into one easily accessible location. The building will house one of the largest welding training facilities among Arkansas colleges, along with several labs for industrial mechanics and maintenance, HVAC and automotive repair classes. In addition to allowing UACCM to greatly expand student enrollment each year in these career-focused programs, more faculty and staff will be added after the building is completed, followed by classes beginning as soon as the fall 2018 semester.