Okaloosa School District seeks $8.35 million for new campus of Okaloosa Technical College

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·2 min read

NICEVILLE — The Okaloosa County School District has applied for a Triumph Gulf Coast grant of $8.35 million to build a north campus of Okaloosa Technical College.

“The proposed Okaloosa Technical College north campus stands to have a monumental impact on higher wage job creation in northern Okaloosa County for years to come," Nathan Spark, executive director of One Okaloosa Economic Development Council, said in the application. "Located in the Okaloosa Industrial Air Park directly adjacent to Bob Sikes Airport, the proposed location will provide for high-impact partnerships with existing aerospace and manufacturing employers located in the immediate vicinity."

Here is what we know.

Where would this be?

The planned expansion of OTC will be located northeast of Crestview at 5660 John Givens Road.

The location of the center, near the Shoal River Ranch gigasite, is aimed at complementing the future expansion of the Crestview area. The land for sale is more than seven acres and would include a 40,000 square-foot building that can be converted to classrooms and laboratories.

How much was the grant request?

In total, the project has an estimated cost of $21,190,040. The OCSD has requested $8,350,000 from Triumph Gulf Coast for this project. The breakdown of that request is as follows:

  • Property acquisition and classroom and lab renovations - $6.5 million

  • Equipment, supplies, software and exams - $1.5 million

  • Grant facilitator - $350,000

The remaining $12,840,040 is as follows:

  • In-Kind Donation (Potential) - $500,000

  • Other Grant Matching Funds (Potential) - $3,520,000

  • Okaloosa Sherriff's Office (Resource Officer) - $383,040

  • Okaloosa County School District - $8,437,000

Timeline of the project

Should the grant be awarded, OTC would begin work on the new campus immediately. According to the request, students could begin learning at the center "within months." By one year after the purchase of a building, over 150 students could be enrolled in five to 10 programs. By two years, students would begin earning certifications and licenses in their field of study.

Over a seven-year period, estimates believe that approximately 1,000 students will be able to receive hands-on training and OTC expects that over 4,000 industry certifications and credentials will be given out from the various programs OTC offers.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa school district applies for $8.35M grant for tech school