(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College leaders formally cut the ribbon to commemorate the new Construction Technologies Center on Thursday, March 26, at the Waco campus.
The 130,000-square-foot structure is home to the Building Construction, Electrical Construction, HVAC, Plumbing and Pipefitting and Solar Energy programs. All of the programs were in separate buildings on campus before being moved together.
“It really takes scale to do technology well,” said Mike Reeser, TSTC’s chancellor and CEO. “And you’ll notice when you visit TSTC, the spaces that are required for what we do are industrial-scale spaces. Buildings like this do not just happen. It really takes an intent to align with the economy.”
As part of a $675,000 grant through the Lowe’s Foundation’s Gable Grants program awarded to The TSTC Foundation, $250,000 of the funding was used to purchase some of the equipment in the new building.
“Your belief in the skilled trades — and in institutions like TSTC — is making a real and lasting difference,” said Beth Wooten, provost of TSTC’s Waco campus.
The building is the first brand-new instructional facility to open on the Waco campus in 14 years.
“And we didn’t just build a building — we built a statement,” Wooten said. “It tells every student, every employer, and every traveler passing by one thing: the trades are now, and the future of Texas is being built right here in Waco.”
Andrea J. Barefield, who represents District 1 on the Waco City Council, said the city deserves a space like the Construction Technologies Center to train the next generation of the workforce.
Dr. Wynn Rosser, commissioner of higher education and CEO of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said for too long the value of credentials in the trades has not been appreciated.
“There is a role for every Texan in the economy,” he said.
Scott Norman, CEO of the Texas Association of Builders, said backfilling jobs in the construction, electrician and plumbing fields will be critical over the next several years as workers retire. For instance, he said about 40 percent of construction personnel are projected to retire by 2031, a fact backed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
“You don’t have to get a four-year degree to be a productive member of society,” he said.
The event marked what could be the last public event as a Texas legislator for Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, who represents District 22. Birdwell was first elected in 2010. He has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as assistant secretary of defense.
Birdwell said TSTC has a special place in his heart because it was the focus of the first legislation he brought to the state Senate.
“You come here, you learn, you’re a valuable citizen, a productive citizen, and contributing to the Texas economy,” he said. “There’s no stupid being done at TSTC.”
Birdwell and JD Hale, vice president of government affairs at the Texas Association of Builders, received a rare award from TSTC, according to Reeser. The men received the TSTC Torchbearer Award for going above and beyond in supporting TSTC and career technical education.
Hale was instrumental in organizing support in passing last fall’s Proposition 1 enabling TSTC to have an $850 million endowment for capital projects.
The building was designed by PBK Architects, with Kitchell providing project management support. Rogers-O’Brien Construction built the building, with five TSTC graduates working on the project: Seth Blanchard, Ulysses Camacho, Will Holmes II, Daniel Sprinkle and Jimmy Stefka.
Students began taking classes in the building in early February.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.