PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A long-awaited career center for Portsmouth students will soon take shape along West Road.
“This has been a project 14 years in the making," Portsmouth School Board Chair Dr. Cardell Patillo said. "We finally got what we needed to make this project successful.”
Monday morning, school officials broke ground on the Portsmouth Advanced Career Education Center, also known as the PACE Center. It will give students a head start in their career field of choice.
“Our students are wanting more certifications and wanting to learn more trades,” he said.
“For those that wanted to go directly into the workforce, we wanted to provide a vehicle for them to be able to do that,” said Dr. Elie Bracy, the schools superintendent.
Dr. Bracy said the $13 million facility will hold several courses including plumbing, welding and patient tech.
“Those are the skills and careers that a lot of our students are interested in,” Dr. Bracy said.
The PACE Center will sit at the old DAC facility. Rather than tearing it down, they’ll renovate the inside and construct another building beside it for additional classrooms.
"For our automotive classrooms as well as welding," Dr. Bracy said. "So, it worked out having the existing building."
"We wanted to have the planning right for it," Dr. Patillo said. "We wanted to have the funding, of course right for it."
When it’s up and running, they hope more than just students can take advantage of the lessons inside.
“We’re constantly working with our city council to form a partnership to where our adult citizens can also take these same trades and certifications at nighttime,” Dr. Patillo said. "It'll build up the economy for all of Portsmouth."
Dr. Bracy hopes to open center doors by 2025.