BY AMANDA STANLEY
There is no denying that southern Wake County is rapidly growing. In fact, Wake County is the fastest growing county in North Carolina. The evidence is clear as you drive around Holly Springs, Apex, and Cary. New homes, shopping centers, and medical facilities are in various stages of construction just about everywhere you look. Manufacturing and life science companies are expanding into this area as well, and new residents are enjoying the mild weather and many local attractions.
Wake Technical Community College, North Carolina’s largest community college, has noticed the tremendous growth and is taking big steps to keep up with the demands of existing and future students, as well as the workforce needs of businesses in the area. The College has recently announced a four-year strategic expansion to increase educational opportunities, provide better accessibility for students, and expand programs tailored to the business needs of the companies operating in the Raleigh area. This expansion will be funded by a $353.2 million bond initiative, the Wake Tech Workforce Forward Bond, on the November 2022 ballot.
“So much growth is happening in the surrounding areas of Raleigh,” said Wake Tech president, Dr. Scott Ralls. “Wake Tech plays a unique role in Wake County. We are a connection college. We connect the community to opportunities with a wide range of programs.
Wake Tech’s four-year expansion focuses on four main areas:
Permanent Western Wake Campus
A large portion of the funding from the Wake Tech Workforce Forward Bond will be used to build a new Wake Tech Campus, strategically located in the fastest growing area of Wake County, at the intersections of U.S. Highway 1, N.C. Highway 55, and the N.C. Highway 540 Triangle Expressway. The Western Wake Campus will replace the leased space in the Millpond Village shopping center in Cary. Facility design and construction at the new 34-acre site will take approximately four years. Once completed, the College will relocate existing campus operations, including business and university transfer programs and offer a new Entrepreneurship Center for small business resources. The campus will feature a new Workforce Development Center with IT and game development labs and industrial/biopharma training space to support the dynamic job growth in Apex, Cary, and Holly Springs.
With the influx of biopharma companies opening offices in the Holly Springs/Apex area, Wake Tech will be poised to work closely with these companies to continue offering programs
