The flagship building for the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College opens its doors for continuing education and basic skills courses on May 2, 2008, with curriculum courses starting Fall Semester 2008. Day, evening, and weekend courses will be offered. Located on 20 acres between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, the campus is within the Waterstone development, a planned, mixed-used community of houses, town homes, retail shops, and office space.
The $8.6 million two-story centerpiece building totals 40,000 square feet. The new campus building houses 22 instructional spaces, including multi-purpose rooms, computer labs and special purpose science labs, as well as flex space which could be used for vocational or trades classes. The facility also includes green building features such as "daylighting" utilizing aluminum light shelves, photovoltaic systems, solar-assisted domestic water heating, rainwater collection and reuse, waterless urinals, and operable window vents in all classroom areas, all of which will help the building be more energy efficient and ecologically friendly. The campus has the capacity for four more buildings.
Many programs currently held at Orange County schools, churches, and recreation centers will be held on the new campus, including University Transfer, Computer Technology, Foreign languages, Occupational Healthcare, and English as a Second Language. The campus will also be home to Durham Tech's Emergency Medical Services classes in Orange County. A variety of additional instruction will also be offered. Approximately 25 percent of Durham Tech's total enrollment is from Orange County and by building this facility, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and Durham Technical Community College are working together to increase the level of education, training, and lifelong learning offerings in the community.
|