$3.2 M training facility in the works in Osceola

Southwestern Community College and the Clarke County Development Corporation are taking steps toward a partnership in providing technical training in Osceola.

At SWCC’s Tuesday board meeting, the board of trustees unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with CCDC for what will be known as the ORBIT Center.

The Osceola Regional Business and Industrial Technology Center is estimated to be up to a $3.4 million construction project, proposed to be located just west of the SWCC Osceola Center on Highway 34.

When complete, the ORBIT Center, owned by CCDC, would be a regional training facility to be used for industrial training needs of private companies, regional secondary schools and the college.

Planning

Last year, the CCDC applied for a United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration grant. In September, they were approved an allocated $2 million in funds toward the project.

Since then, the CCDC has raised approximately $1.27 million in additional funds, putting them $50,000 from the goal.

Earlier this year, CCDC Executive Director Bill Trickey spoke with the board of trustees about a partnership where CCDC owns the facility and SWCC provides instruction.

“The excitement that I have with SWCC’s willingness to participate is that’s really what makes it work,” Trickey said Tuesday. “My board is committed to doing this. If we have to come up with some more money, I think we can make it.”

The 9,000 square foot building is being constructed by Denovo Construction Solutions in West Des Moines. The facility will feature a 7,500 square foot lab area with flexible lab space and a welcome area/student lounge space.

The CCDC is responsible to secure all funding, contract and pay for design and construction and insure the facility against loss. They will lease mutually-agreed upon space within the facility to the college for no base rent on mutually-agreeable terms. They will also maintain, replace and repair elements of the facility.

Training

The college has agreed to provide instructors, arrange curriculum and materials and maintain attendance for all credit and non-credit courses held in the facility.

With the center being located next to the SWCC Osceola campus, the ORBIT Center will leverage the campus for classroom learning and potentially welding.

“One of the things we talked about in our discussions is welding lab space,” SWCC Vice President of Economic Development Wayne Pantini told the board. “We don’t have that currently as part of this facility. That is because we are taking a look at our existing SWCC Osceola Center to see if we have space there for a welding lab which could be built into that. We’d be able to provide that welding training as a part of this collective campus between the two facilities.”

Trickey said this training is vital as more populated generations retire and younger generations take on the majority of the workforce.

“SWCC is such a tremendous asset in this part of the state,” Trickey said. “Osceola has a pretty good industrial base, but like everyone, we’re struggling to find skilled workers. This facility, we’re planning on it being a key piece of continuing that for the region.”

The increase in demand for American-made products is one of the reasons Trickey said the facility is so vital.

“People are tired of getting products that are late, products that don’t meet specifications, and so even though they got them cheaper somewhere else, they’re not as good,” he said. “We’re seeing a resurgence of demand, so industries are responding to that with increasing technology. That’s the thing that’s pretty exciting for me about this center, is we should be able to adapt and help them with the training necessary to adapt to that advance in technology.”

Next Steps

Next steps include approving the budget to move forward with construction documents and Denovo to continue with bidder solicitation and contract estimates.

“In a perfect world, if everything came together the way we would like it to come together, maybe the earliest we would get some programming into that facility would probably be January 2025,” SWCC Interim President Lindsay Stoaks said.

Every three years for nine years, the CCDC will be required to report to the EDA the number of people the facility has trained and the number of jobs that have been created or preserved.

“I haven’t had any faltering of support from the board,” Trickey said. “They’re really excited.”

The facility must be used for training purposes for 20 years or the grant money will have to be paid back.

“You don’t get a lot of opportunities to complete projects like this during your lifetime or your career,” Stoaks said. “There’s lots of attention to detail, and making sure we’re meeting all the needs because you get one shot to do this well and to do it right.”