Council OKs road money for tech campus

The $3.7 million Spartanburg Tech Cherokee County branch campus classroom building should be open by the fall of 2007, Spartanburg Tech President Dan Terhune told Cherokee County Council on Monday. In the end, Cherokee County Council approved road improvement funds for the new Spartanburg Technical College’s Cherokee County campus for the most basic reason — everybody wants to see the school open as soon as possible.

Council voted unanimously to allow the college to spend $175,000 to grade the access road to the Freightliner center and to prepare and pave the facility’s parking lot. The money was part of the county’s annual $250,000 appropriation for the tech school.

Spartanburg Tech President Dan Terhune made the request during a 20-minute appearance before council Monday. Terhune said he’s spent $75,000 of the appropriations to date.

“We came to you three years ago and the project is well beyond any of our imaginations at that time,” he said.

The campus, which will consist of three buildings, is located on a 62acre tract near the Peachoid off Hwy. 11.

The Freightliner training center is under construction and scheduled to open in April.

The $2.7 million continuing education building, which will be used by existing industries for training and recruiting purposes, will be ready to bid soon, Terhune said. The 16,000 square-foot building should open in January of 2007, he said.

The $3.7 million education classroom facility should be ready for students by the fall of 2007. Terhune said the building will be funded, in part, with a $1.2 million EDA grant.