OTC expands footprint of new building planned to house agriculture, lineworker programs

Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read

Plans for a building to house the agriculture and lineworker programs offered in Christian County by the Ozarks Technical Community College have grown.

In October, the OTC Board of Trustees approved a $4.5 million budget for the project to construct the Agriculture and Electrical Distribution Systems building at the Richwood Valley Campus located between Nixa and Ozark.

At a meeting Wednesday, the board agreed to add $312,948 to the budget to expand the building by nearly 3,000 square feet — bringing the total size of the structure to 19,600 square feet.

An artist rendering of the new Agriculture and Electrical Distribution Systems building under construction by Ozarks Technical Community College.
An artist rendering of the new Agriculture and Electrical Distribution Systems building under construction by Ozarks Technical Community College.

OTC broke ground on the project Jan. 2. The space is expected to be ready for students in January 2025.

The project will provide dedicated space for two growing programs. The agriculture program, which moved to the Richwood Valley campus in 2019, will have additional classroom space.

There will also be classroom and training space for the electrical distribution systems program, which is the lineworker program.

As part of the project, there will be ample space for the program's equipment and tools.

OTC received two grants to fund the new building:

  • $1.7 million from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department.

  • $2.5 million from the State MoExcels Workforce Initiative. This grant required a 50/50 match from OTC.

In a news release Wednesday, OTC said since bids for the project were lower than original construction estimates and MoExcels funding was available, the size of the building will grow by 2,960 square feet.

The new budget amount for the project is $4.82 million.

More: Ozarks Technical Community College has big plans for 2024. Here are 6 changes in the works

Part of the MoExcels funding may also be used for equipment for the two programs.

The college is also evaluating equipment needs for the two programs to utilize the MoExcels funding completely. OTC’s capital contribution to the project will only be 14.5% of the total project cost after the full utilization of both grants.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: OTC expands footprint of new building for ag, lineworker programs