Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wake Tech presents bond-funded expansions: simulated hospital, Western Wake relocation and campus renovations
Summary
Wake Tech told commissioners it is moving forward on a 106,000-square-foot simulated hospital and parking deck near WakeMed, planning a new Western Wake campus on 34 acres at Viridia, and pursuing RTP renovations and Southern Campus upgrades funded through prior and current bonds.
Wake Tech Community College presented an update on its capital program at the May 12 Wake County Board of Commissioners work session, describing completed work under prior bonds and current projects funded by the 2022 Workforce Forward bond and other sources.
Chuck Scott, vice president of facilities for Wake Tech, described major current projects: a 106,000-square-foot simulated hospital (the HX Building) and adjacent parking deck at the Wake 3 Health and Education District (adjacent to WakeMed), a planned Western Wake campus on 34 acres in the Viridia development (first building ~120,000 square feet), renovations at the RTP campus to expand biotechnology and lab capacity, and a multi-year renovation program at the Southern Wake campus with a focus on the SL (Student Services) building. Scott said the HX project had finished bidding and planned site work to begin in June with a formal groundbreaking in September.
Scott also outlined cost drivers: campus land and site costs for large high-school-sized footprints, rapidly changing and shortening lifecycle expectations for instructional simulation equipment, and higher construction and equipment costs for biotech and health-sciences facilities. For Southern Wake, he said the college will focus funding on HVAC, electrical, simulation equipment and life-safety upgrades; one line in the current bond is $27 million over four years for multiple renovation needs, with about $8 million of that line estimated for HVAC and building automation projects.
Board members asked about maintenance staffing; Wake Tech staff said the college has recently added facilities and HVAC positions and does not currently report the same staffing shortfalls described by the school district. Wake Tech noted, however, that future campus growth (Western Wake) will require additional maintenance staff. Scott said Wake Tech uses a computerized maintenance management system and scheduled preventive maintenance for new buildings. No formal votes were taken; staff and commissioners discussed follow-up materials and public outreach for future project openings.
