KEARNEY — Dirt will soon be moving at the site of the new Central Community College Learning Center in Kearney.
CCC officials were to celebrate the start of construction on the new center with an 11 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony today. CCC President Greg Smith said that work will begin soon to prepare the site for construction.
“CCC’s intention is to have the new Kearney Learning Center open for business by fall semester 2017,” Smith told the Hub.
Originally scheduled to open in fall 2018, the center is ahead of schedule thanks to a successful fundraising campaign.
The total cost of the new CCC campus in Kearney is estimated at $23.3 million, with $10 million coming from donations and the remaining $13.3 million from reserves and bonds.
Dean Moors, executive director of the CCC Foundation, said that donations have almost reached the $10 million goal. He credited support from individuals, families, business, industry and foundations.
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“Support was not only (from) local and surrounding areas but the Tri-Cities, region and the state of Nebraska,” Moors said.
In addition to raising $10 million for the construction of a new Kearney campus at 11th Street and 30th Avenue, CCC initiatives include raising $1 million for scholarships and $500,000 to develop small businesses.
With the new center comes new opportunities, CCC officials noted.
“The new Kearney Learning Center will allow us to serve more students in a state-of-the-art learning environment. It will allow us to expand existing programs and to offer new programs. The new facility will include high-end distance-learning capabilities making expanded curriculum offerings available,” Smith said.
He added that CCC will benefit from partnerships with the new Kearney High School, located nearby at 2702 W. 11th Street, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
CCC officials decided that there was a need for a new location after determining that its current center in a converted bowling alley no longer meets Kearney’s educational needs.
The new CCC campus will feature classes for industrial maintenance, advanced manufacturing, construction, information technology, health sciences and more.
According to Moors, the new CCC location also will have a veterans center.
The nearly 65,000-square-foot facility will be built by Sampson Construction.
In March, the CCC Board of Governors accepted a $20 million bid from Sampson Construction of Lincoln to build the center.
According to figures previously provided by Smith, CCC serves a 25-county area and between 23,000-26,000 total students.
Of those students, an estimated 1,800-2,200 are from Buffalo County. Some of those students drive to campuses in Hastings and Grand Island.
@JoshMoodyKHUB
