With funding secured, Cayuga Community College is moving ahead on a project to create a workforce
development center following delays. The endeavor is to renovate the former Cayuga County Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Auburn into a center where local workforce development agencies that help people gain skills desired by local employers and ultimately secure employment would all be under one roof.

The project has been in the works for years. CCC’s board of trustees approved the college’s request for SUNY capital funding for the project. The Cayuga County Legislature formally acquired and placed the extension building in a trust for CCC in November 2019. However, the undertaking ran into delays connected to the
COVID-19 pandemic.

Andrew Poole, director of public relations and institutional communications for the college, said earlier this week the project is still moving forward. Collaborating with other Cayuga County entities on the workforce development center was listed as one of the objectives in CCC’s 2022-2025 strategic plan, which was approved by the board of trustees Dec. 20.

CCC still has the $2.4 million from the state requested through SUNY, which incorporated it into their funding requests for the state executive budget. Poole said the college has also secured a local match for the money as well, through the value of the property, philanthropic support, support from the Cayuga County Legislature and Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund money toward the center’s HVAC system. The college aims to reissue the project out to bid for construction early next year, Poole noted.

Dr. Brian Durant, CCC president, talked about the potential impact of the project in a statement. “This is an important project, not only for Cayuga as we look to expand our workforce development services but also for the greater Cayuga County community. Bringing many of our workforce-related agencies together will create a central hub where our current and future workforce can access the training and services they need to develop their careers,” Durant said. “I’d like to thank our state and local supporters for working with us and for believing in how the Workforce Development Center will help and shape our workforce for years to come.”