PENSACOLA — Pensacola State College has received $8 million in state funding toward replacing the 60-year-old Mary Ellison Baars Building.
The funds will facilitate site preparation and engineering needed to make the project shovel ready. The 80,000-square-foot building will house mathematics, computer science, cyber security, aviation maintenance, advanced manufacturing programs and other high-tech programs.
In 2014, $1 million in state funding was received to begin architectural design of the building. The total project cost is $25 million.
The new facility plays a key role in plans for VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering Inc. to open a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Pensacola International Airport in 2017. VT MAE is working with PSC to provide project training for 200 to 300 new jobs coming to the region, with the potential for expanding to 1,000 workers.
“This funding would not have been possible without the support of the Northwest Florida Delegation, and the efforts of Rep. Clay Ingram and Sen. Greg Evers who championed this request through the legislative process,” a media release states.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pensacola State receives $8M for new Baars building