Austin Community College District (ACC) celebrated a milestone with a groundbreaking ceremony at its Round Rock Campus on Friday, November 22. The skilled trades project is the first project funded by the 2022 General Obligation Bond. 

The event marked the beginning of an effort to meet the growing demand for a trained workforce in Austin’s booming economy, particularly in fields such as building construction technology, welding, automotive technology, HVAC, and advanced manufacturing.

“A lot of times, you look at numbers and data and projections on what jobs are needed and the cost of buildings. But when you engage your students and hear directly from them how important spaces like these are, we are redefining not just their lives but the generations that will follow them. It affirms that we’re the right college in the right place,” says ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. 

The ceremony was attended by local officials, community members, and project stakeholders, including representatives from PBK Architects, Inc., the project’s lead architecture firm, and Balfour Beatty, who will serve as Construction Manager at Risk. Attendees heard remarks from ACC leaders and local dignitaries before participating in the ceremonial groundbreaking. The event also featured a virtual reality walk-through station, giving attendees a preview of the new facilities in immersive detail.

“These types of programs are important and exciting because they provide a pathway to careers that are on the cutting edge of infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, of healthcare,” says ACC Board of Trustees Dr. Manny Gonzalez. “To give people a pathway in higher education to do really fantastic things in their careers you can’t help but draw inspiration that comes from a project like this.”

The project will add two cutting-edge buildings as part of Phase 1 of the 2022 G.O. Bond initiative, which was approved by voters last November:

  • Building 5500: A 24,200 square-foot space will house programs in Advanced Manufacturing, HVAC, and a shell space for a future program. 
  • Building 4000: A 36,500 square-foot facility designed for the Automotive Technology program, featuring a dedicated space for the college’s partnership with Toyota’s T-Ten program and a potential future Battery Electric Vehicle space.

With a strong demand for skilled workers, this project represents an essential investment in the future of Austin’s workforce. Once completed, the new facilities will offer hands-on learning experiences in some of the area’s most sought-after trades, giving ACC students the skills they need to thrive in a competitive job market.

“We need them so that these people that have been in trades for years and have a ton of knowledge to give us so they can have the space to do that. We have a ton of instructors here that have a ton of knowledge and experience to share with us,” says ACC Welding Technology Student Forrest Sallee. “It’s just going to expand everything that we’re doing here, and we’re going to have more opportunities.”

Phase 2 of the project will focus on expanding health science programs and other high-demand fields.

For more details on ACC’s 2022 G.O. Bond projects, visit austincc.edu/bond.