Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Panola College Approves Energy Technology Building Construction

  • By Matt Jones
  • 02/09/23

The Board of Trustees at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, recently approved the construction of a new energy building on its campus, according to local news. The facility includes 32,000 square feet of interior space and 25,000 square feet of outdoor space, and it will feature amenities like a welding lab; and engines and compression lab; and classrooms and shops for HAC, electrical and motor control, hydraulics and mechanical, commercial wiring, and instrumentation.

According to the Panola Watchman, the project will cost a total of $14.9 million. About $12.3 million of that will go to construction, while the remaining $2.6 million will be spent on furnishings and specialized equipment, according to Corgan Architects project representative David Zatopek.

The main goal of the new facility is to expand the space available for many of the college’s most popular programs.

“We really need more space, and this new facility will allow us to triple our enrollment,” said Panola College President Dr. Greg Powell. Local news outlet KLTV reports that in the current building, between five and nine subjects are being taught at any one time. Classes are stacked on top of one another, and scheduling is tight, said Powell.

“Our programs have grown tremendously. With the onset of the petroleum program, we work with industry to see what their needs are, and that’s how it’s expanded into our other associate degree programs and then some smaller certificates,” said Natalie Oswalt, dean of arts, sciences, and technology. “We will be adding some things like drone technology. We want to be able to offer that to our students and to businesses.”

The Panola Watchman reports that construction began in the last week of January and is scheduled for completion by September 2024.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.