Wake Tech has new buildings on the way

Wake Technical Community College will get $25.4 million from Wake County to begin construction and renovation projects.

Wake County commissioners acted this week to appropriate the money as part of the 2017 budget. The improvements include $1 million for information technology infrastructure to expand online education.

The money will be spent on several Wake Tech campuses, including $6.6 million to design a classroom building and parking lot at the new Research Triangle Park location in Morrisville. The new RTP building will focus on information technology, including gaming, data science, cybersecurity, computer programming and software development.

The first building at the RTP campus, funded by a 2012 voter referendum, is under construction now and will open in 2018. The campus, on N.C. 54 near I-540 in Morrisville, could eventually serve 7,000 students in 10 buildings.

The Northern Wake campus will receive $6.27 million to design a facility for instruction in automotive and collision repair. The main campus will receive $2.85 million to design a building for facilities management programs, including carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, electrical repair and inventory control.

The rest of the money will go toward renovation, repair and infrastructure across Wake Tech’s campuses.

Wake Tech is the third fastest growing large community college in the United States, according to a 2016 analysis by the publication Community College Week.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Wake Tech has new buildings on the way."