ACCS Innovation Center to be open in February

Wes Tomlinson, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·3 min read

Oct. 7—Renovations on a Fourth Avenue Northeast building where industry leaders and the Alabama Community College System will design courses to train workers won't be completed until early next year as a block of downtown office space remains vacant.

Work on the state system's Innovation Center probably won't be finished until Feb. 1 and it likely won't be ready for occupancy until March 1, officials said this week. The site is the former Decatur City Schools central office. The other building in the block north of Lee Street and between Fourth Avenue and Cherry Street is the closed former BVBA Compass Bank branch.

Officials had originally hoped to have the Innovation Center finished this past summer.

Blake McAnally, trustee-at-large with the Alabama Community College System (ACCS), said there has been a delay in getting HVAC units for the Innovation Center, slowing construction.

"The air-handling units were scheduled to be shipped (Oct. 6) and we got word this week that they're now being pushed out to Oct. 31 to ship," McAnally said. "Because we can't condition the space yet, there's a lot of work inside that can't take place."

ACCS Vice Chancellor Keith Phillips said architects with Huntsville-based Goodwyn Mills Cawood said they are also waiting on an electrical panel to be delivered, which is currently being upgraded to accommodate the building.

McAnally said most of the electrical and plumbing work on the Innovation Center was finished, but the work cannot continue until they have power and air-conditioning.

"If you can get the air-conditioning in the beginning, then you can start with drywall finishes, trim and paint and things of that nature," McAnally said.

Training programs for industry will be developed at the Innovation Center and taught at various locations around the state.

McAnally said the ACCS currently provides 23 rapid training programs, or Skills for Success courses, which are based on industry needs around the state. Phillips said they began providing the programs nine months ago.

"If industries in the area come to us and say, 'I need this type of training,' those are the ones we have already packaged and are doing all around the state already," McAnally said.

Phillips said several of the Skills for Success courses are on the "drawing board" and they plan to have them in place once the Innovation Center is complete next year. He said they already have active programs such as training for commercial driver Class A and B credentials and food and beverage courses.

Phillips said the Innovation Center will serve as a headquarters for industry leaders and ACCS officials to work together in a central location designing courses, rather than working in remote locations across the state.

"The focus of this particular Innovation Center is if we wanted to bring business and industry to the table to talk about the training needs and for us to develop Skills for Success courses," Phillips said. "We would openly invite business and industries to come sit down at the table and talk about what occupations they need to hire."

Phillips said industries can tell ACCS officials specific skills they need for positions needing to be filled and the ACCS will assist them in customizing training courses with those skills included. He said they are already working with officials from Birmingham-based companies Dunn Construction and Midsouth Paving to design training courses for their employees.

McAnally said the total project cost for the renovations is $3.28 million with a $5 million project budget.

Huntsville-based Goodwyn Mills Cawood is the architect for this project and Gadsden-based Greer Building Contractors is responsible for construction.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.