TTC breaks ground on new Nursing and Science Building
June 27, 2012
CHARLESTON, SC – June 26, 2012 – Trident Technical College broke ground June 25 on a new $30 million Nursing and Science Building on the college’s Main Campus in North Charleston. More than 300 people helped the college celebrate the milestone event, including TTC students and faculty, county council members, legislators and other elected officials.
Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties are supporting construction of the 90,000-square-foot building, with each county providing a proportional share of the funding: Charleston County – $18 million, Berkeley County – $7.5 million, and Dorchester County – $4.5 million.
“We are very grateful for the support we have received from our county councils,” said TTC President Mary Thornley. “TTC is the largest provider of nursing education in the Lowcountry and the only provider of training for many critical health care fields. This investment will reap great benefits for our community as our population continues to grow and the demand for health care workers increases.”
LS3P Associates Ltd. designed TTC’s new Nursing and Science Building tomeet LEED certification standards, which will help the college save onenergy costs and minimize its carbon footprint.
The new building will house TTC’s three Nursing programs and provide classroom and lab space for science classes such as microbiology, and anatomy and physiology. Currently, the Nursing programs and 10 of the college’s 13 Health Science programs are housed in a 54,400-square-foot building constructed in 1989, when the college’s enrollment was only 5,728. Today the college has an enrollment of close to 17,000 students, making it the second largest institution of higher education in the state based on undergraduate enrollment. Lack of space has meant waiting lists for Nursing and popular Health Science programs.
“I am one of the many Nursing students who had to wait two years for entry into the Nursing program,” said Student Nurses Association President Shay Jackson, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This new Nursing and Science Building will give career opportunities and provide meaningful jobs to hundreds of nurses who will work in hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, public schools and many other locations in our region.”
Moving the Nursing programs into a new building will free up space in the current building that will enable expansion of other health care programs such as Pharmacy Technician and Respiratory Care.
LS3P Associates designed the building, and China Construction America of South Carolina Inc. recently received the construction contract through the state bidding process. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2013 and classes will be held in the building starting in January 2014. The building will feature classrooms, science labs, a 291-seat divisible tiered classroom, a Nursing Resource Center, and a high-tech patient simulation lab.
Continuing its commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability, and as required by state law, TTC’s bid specifications required that the new building be designed to meet LEED standards for high performance in the areas of human and environmental health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The building’s design provides many sustainable features including storm water capture for toilet flushing, solar hot water, building materials with high recycled content, pervious pavement and water efficient landscaping. The college plans to apply for LEED silver certification once the building is complete.
