“Now THIS is a groundbreaking!”
That is what Alberta Premier Dave Hancock tweeted to his followers the afternoon after Lethbridge College broke
ground on its new trades and technologies facility in a ceremony that had the premier at the controls of a powerful excavator at the south end of campus. The April 24 ground breaking ceremony included hundreds of government officials, community supporters, industry partners, staff, current students and even future students decked out in red shirts proclaiming them members of the class of 2017, the first who will attend the college when the new building opens.
The new facility will measure more than 15,000 square metres, providing nearly three football fields’ worth of space. It will accommodate an additional 880 students, increasing overall capacity to 2,300 students who will get hands-on experience in skilled trades, as well as in existing and emerging technologies. The facility will house skilled apprentices in electrical, welding, agriculture equipment, automotive service, parts, and heavy equipment as well as students studying to work as technicians and technologists in wind turbine technology, engineering design, interior design, geomatics, and civil engineering. All of these fields are linked to careers that are in high demand in the region, province and country.
The building itself has been thoughtfully designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in association with Sahuri + Partners Architecture with function, flexibility and sustainability considered in all decisions. Stuart Olson Dominion will serve as construction manager for the duration of the project. Construction began in earnest this summer and blazed along under the summer sun. The first major milestone will be the opening of the Crooks School of Transportation in the fall of 2015.
To keep up on the latest developments in the construction of this new facility, including time-lapse video of the project, go to learn.lc/ttrip.
