Construction underway for EICC’s new Career and Tech Centers
If you’ve visited Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ (EICC) Clinton or Muscatine campuses lately, you’ve most likely noticed folks in hard hats, the roar of an excavator and leveled dirt. In other words, the hustle and bustle of an active construction site!
The work is just part of a long list of projects being funded by the college’s $40 million bond, which passed last year with more than 70 percent of voters supporting the expansion of EICC’s career and technical education through new facilities and renovations.
“This is a really ambitious project,” said Clinton Community College (CCC) President Brian Kelly. “We really see this as a priority for the region and are working as hard as we can to respond to community need.”
At CCC, foundation and dirt work is currently being done on a modern 26,700 sq. ft. facility located across the street from the main campus. The building will support many existing programs, and even several new offerings, with multi-purpose labs, classrooms, a student commons/lobby area and offices for instructors.
Similar work is being completed at Muscatine Community College (MCC). The new Career and Technical Center there is adjacent to the main campus. The pre-engineered buildings for both sites are on schedule to be delivered this month, with construction and equipment installation to be completed in time for the start of fall classes.
“We hope to see the steel structure of the building going up soon,” said Jeremy Pickard, MCC’s Dean of Instruction. “We’ve been talking about this for two years, so there’s a lot of excitement.”
The new centers will allow for increased services for all EICC students, as well as those in the college’s Career Academies. Career Academies provide high school students with the opportunity to receive hands-on career training, and college-level credits, while still in high school. By providing students with the training needed to enter high-demand, skilled trades at no charge, the academies especially answer a need for those students who might not normally continue their education past high school.
“We’ll be able to provide programs we’ve never been able to offer and help both high school students and adults train for high-demand jobs available right here in our community,” Pickard said.
Planned academies for the buildings currently under construction include:
Clinton Community College
- Agriculture
- Automotive Technology
- Construction Technology
- Culinary
- Education
- Engineering Technology
- Healthcare
- Information Technology
- Welding Technology
Muscatine Community College
- Allied Health/Nursing
- Automotive Technology
- Construction Technology
- Criminal Justice
Meanwhile, plans for other projects included in the bond are moving forward as well.
- CCC Career and Technical Center in DeWitt, Iowa:
Delivery of the pre-engineered building for this site is scheduled for fall 2022, project completion expected in summer 2023.
- Scott Community College (SCC) Allied Healthcare Wing:
Renovation scheduled to begin in 2023.
- SCC Blong Technology Center Expansion & Ag Innovation Center:
Construction scheduled to begin in 2024.
To view a full list of projects and renderings, visit eicc.edu/breakingground
In addition to providing more educational and training opportunities to the community, construction of these new centers is helping boost the local economy. EICC’s partners include local companies Estes Construction, IMEG and Studio 483.