Mid-America renovating

Mid-America Technology Center is in the midst of a remodeling project that will enhance and modernize the facility on SH 59 while adding 29,000 sq. ft. to the Main Building.

Cost of the project is just over $10 million. It will be paid for with building fund money that has been saved for a few years, Superintendent Mike Eubank reported.

Planning for the project began in the fall of 2020 with demolition of unwanted portions of the current facility starting early in July.

The upgrades will enhance:

•Security – “Our main/administration building needed one single secure entrance,” MATC officials said.

•Meeting Space – The campus needs additional meeting space that can accommodate larger gatherings with modern audio/visual technology.

•Office Space – The campus needs centralized administrative and finance offices.

Restrooms – The main/administration building needs at least three additional banks of restrooms to accommodate gatherings and increased student population.

•Safe room – The campus needs an additional safe room to serve the north side of campus.

•Student Commons – The campus needs additional sitting/commons area for meeting rooms and student break space.

•Code update – The main/administration building needs to be brought up to modern building standards and codes.

•Class/program space – Consolidation of IT, maintenance and office space will free up space for additional program space.

During planning meetings, it was determined that we needed to invest in our current campus and re-establish it as our headquarters prior to starting on a North Campus,” Eubank said.

“In doing so we recognized that most of our students and clients were accustomed to newer more modern buildings and that we needed to make the building both inviting and appealing to our customers,” he said.

The renovation will include three large meeting rooms, offices, student commons and multiple restrooms.  Also in the plan is building a separate IT Maintenance Building as part of the project.

Another design consideration was that we did not want to interfere with existing training and class schedules. We will have some challenges with parking, and where offices are located, but classes and training will continue.

“We actually added three programs this year to utilize existing space, so our ability to host meetings and large groups will be somewhat limited during construction,” Eubank said.

The work right now is concentrated on removing the front of the 53-year-old Main Building.  The demolition of the auditorium and front offices is complete and new construction should begin next week.

Kahle Wilson with Design Architects Plus was able to create a building that solved problems and looks amazing.

“Goldsby Construction has been great to work with on the building side and we are confident that the finished product will be both beautiful and efficient,” Eubank said.  The end goal is to have a new look and footprint to better serve our students, clients and community needs.

During construction, the new “temporary front entrance” will be the east entrance of the Main Building.