BRCC BUILDING PROJECTS TAKE SHAPE
BYLINE: Julie Ball
BRCC building projects take shape
EDITOR
FLAT ROCK -- As a $16 million technology center takes shape on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College in Henderson County, the college broke ground last week on another new building at its Transylvania County center.
The new 15,000-square-foot Applied Technology Building in Brevard will include space for the automotive systems program as well as the allied health program. It will include a small business incubator with start-up space for up to seven businesses.
"This building has been talked about and planned for probably more than five years," said Lee Anna Haney, a spokeswoman for the college. "These are programs and training that Transylvania County leaders have been asking for."
The new $1.9 million building is set to open in 12 to 18 months, according to Haney.
"I think this is a golden opportunity for us. It will aid the college itself, and one of the aspects we would love to see is for this to be a full satellite campus of Blue Ridge Community College," said Transylvania County Manager Artie Wilson.
The new facility will benefit not only those hit hard by factory layoffs in Transylvania County, but also students just out of high school, Wilson said.
"There is clearly a need in the health industry for nurses, and one of the major programs will be the nursing program," Wilson said.
In addition, the building will have a distance-learning center.
Wilson said Transylvania County put up $1.3 million for the project. Another $400,000 -- money earmarked for the business incubator -- came from a Community Development Block Grant.
The business incubator will house business start-ups, similar to the incubator at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's Enka Campus. Priority will be give to "qualified Transylvania County residents that are graduates of the college's Entrepreneurship New Ventures Institute" or another instructional program geared toward starting a new business, Haney said.
The facility will offer support to the businesses. Tenants must have a business operation plan approved by the incubator's advisory board. Leases can be issued for a maximum of six months, with the possibility of extension for up to 18 months.
"This incubator will be a place where entrepreneurs can come and start a small business," Wilson said. "We're seeing more and more of the entrepreneurial spirit in our county."
Meanwhile on the Flat Rock campus, Blue Ridge is building an 80,000-square foot technology center that will include a conference area that can seat up to 1,000 people.
"The way things look now, the building will be ready for occupancy the summer of 2008," said David Hutto, dean for technology and development at the community college.
Beside an 11,000-square-foot conference area designed to support large-scale events, the building will have teaching space that will house the college's information technology labs, computer instruction facilities, a digital media lab and Internet technology lab.
A broadband technology lab will house a virtual reality training center. In the training center, firefighters, for example, could practice firefighting techniques in safety.
"From the programming side of it, we'll be teaching courses so the students can learn to create those virtual environments," Hutto said.
The building will also include interactive video classrooms able to hook up with other community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.
"We like to feel it will be a real showcase facility for Western North Carolina," Hutto said.
The building is changing the landscape at Blue Ridge. When completed, it will be the tallest building on campus.
Hutto said the building is symbolic of the college and its push to be on the cutting edge of technology and training.
Contact Ball at 232-5851 or jball@PISGAHMOUNTAINNEWS.com.
with photo BRCC building.jpg in archives
Special to Pisgah Mountain News
Blue Ridge Community College broke ground last week on a new Applied Technology Building at its Transylvania Center.
with photo brcc building.jpg in staff photos
Photo by Julie Ball
The new $16 million technology center is taking shape on the Flat Rock campus of Blue Ridge Community College.