XENIA — The Greene County Career Center is preparing to launch the biggest expansion in the school's history.
It follows passage of a ballot issue in November that will fund a new $62 million facility to be built along U.S. 35 at state Route 68 south of Xenia.
“Right off the interchange there, a great location for us. It centralizes the career center bringing five of our seven school districts to a closer proximity, meaning we can get kids there quicker and have them on campus a little bit longer in the labs and the classrooms,” said Dave Deskins, GCCC superintendent.
Deskins said the current facility was built in the mid-1960s and the new building will better serve the students and programs there that currently range from auto mechanics to welding technology and much more. One big addition to programming will come with the new building: aerospace technology.
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Brett Doudican, GCCC curriculum specialist, said adding aerospace made sense, given the local economy being driven by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and its many contractors.
“All those people have jobs that need cybersecurity, need mechanics that can work on planes as they do experiments and other kinds of staff, that have been a very local need and very high need for us,” Doudican said.
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Drawings of the new building show an open concept with higher ceilings and movable interior walls in some sections. Matt Huelsman of Shook Touchstone Construction, said the design is meant to match the mission of the facility. In this case flexibility is key.
“Spaces that are used for multi-purpose are a big one. You have a garage door to open a common space where three or four classrooms can use it and actually find students together to make their own little spaces,” Huelsman said.
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According to Deskins, some preliminary work on the site of the new building may be underway within the next month or so. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.
