News Photo by Temi Fadayomi Alpena Community College President Don MacMaster (second from the right) shows Alpena Community College Board of Trustees Property Subcommittee members John Briggs (far left), Joseph Gentry II (second from the left), and Thomas Townsend (far right) the progress being made on Holcim Industrial Education and Welding Center on Thursday.

ALPENA — While work remains ongoing on new welding and manufacturing buildings at Alpena Community College, officials remain hopeful that both buildings will be up and running by the time the fall semester begins.

On Thursday, as part of a special meeting, ACC President Don MacMaster took the ACC Board of Trustees Property Subcommittee — whose members consisted of John Briggs, Joseph Gentry II, and Thomas Townsend — on a small tour to see the progress of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence Project.

According to ACC Director of Public Information and Marketing Jay Walterreit, the project began in 2020 when the college sought funding from the United States Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration for the purposes of renovating and upgrading outdated occupational training spaces in the Besser Technical Center.

MacMaster started Thursday’s tour by taking the trustees to the old shared space for manufacturing and welding classes. As part of the project, the room is being repurposed to function exclusively as an expanded welding skills center, which will be known as the Holcim Industrial Education and Welding Center.

MacMaster showed the trustees around the room, which is currently under construction, explaining the new layout of the room once construction is finished.

MacMaster also took the trustees to ACC’s old auto body lab space and told them about the renovations happening there. The unoccupied building is being repurposed into an expanded and modernized manufacturing skills center with up-to-date equipment.

The new lab will be called the Besser Company Center for Manufacturing Excellence.

Initially, the project was estimated to cost between $2.3 million and $3 million with the EDA funding 80% of the project and the college paying the remaining 20%. The project budget ultimately increased to $3.5 million, with the college covering the additional costs.

While some elements of the project have taken longer than expected, MacMaster aims to have both buildings ready for students before school begins.

“These are unique classrooms,” MacMaster said about the new welding and manufacturing classrooms. “The students in these programs can’t be taught anywhere else, so we are cognizant of having these done on time.”

The Alpena Community College Board of Trustees Property Subcommittee on Thursday also:

∫ discussed renovation and replacement of some of the signs on campus to be more up to date.

∫ discussed and informally agreed to hear a plan to beautify the property between Van Lare Hall and the Community Mental Health building and turn it into a walking path.