Trident Tech holds groundbreaking ceremony for S.C. Aeronautical Training Center

Mary Thornley leads the official groundbreaking with (from left) North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, Charleston County Council Chairman Elliott Summey, state Rep. James Merrill, state Sen. Larry Grooms, InterTech Group CEO Anita Zucker and TTC Area Commission Chariman Rudd Smith.

Trident Tech celebrated the beginning of a new era in advanced manufacturing Nov. 4, breaking ground for the S.C. Aeronautical Training Center, which will be built on 25 acres of undeveloped land on Main Campus.

Funding for the $80 million, 224,000-square-foot facility came from multiple sources -- the state, Charleston County, the City of North Charleston, federal grants, private donations and college resources.

The new building will house the college’s Aeronautical Studies programs, readySC training for Boeing South Carolina, and other readySC advanced manufacturing training. It will also provide classroom and lab space for the college’s advanced manufacturing continuing education programs, and Industrial and Engineering Technology programs.

The college is currently working with LS3P Associates and Lindbergh & Associates on the design of the building. The college plans to issue construction contracts beginning in January 2017. Construction is expected to be completed in 2019.

Mary Thornley and Anita Zucker are interviewed
by local television stations.

The center will feature open bays to accommodate aircraft, large aircraft parts and training aids. Classrooms and labs will be used to train students in subjects including aircraft assembly and maintenance, composite materials, avionics, mechatronics, robotics and automation, and additive manufacturing (industrial 3-D printing).

Continuing its commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability, and as required by state law, TTC’s specifications will require that the new building be designed to meet Green Globes standards for high performance in the areas of site development, water and energy use, materials selection, emissions, and indoor environmental quality. The building’s design will contain many sustainable features, including a solar roof funded through private donations and a matching gift from Trident Technical College Area Commissioner Anita Zucker.

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