Chattanooga State Community College broke ground Wednesday on a new education and training facility to serve students in its service-based professional programs.
The roughly 25,000-square-foot building, which is part of Chattanooga State’s Tennessee College of Applied Technology, will house the college’s aesthetics, barbering, cosmetology and massage therapy programs. It is tentatively scheduled to be open to students in January 2026.
“What we’re doing here is changing lives,” Flora Tydings, chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, said during the ceremony. “We change communities. We change a student’s life, which changes a family’s life. And having buildings that represent the importance of what is happening at a technical college is crucial. This building is going to show that.”
Faculty and students from the programs the new building will serve joined college leadership, local elected officials and representatives from the Tennessee Board of Regents to commemorate the groundbreaking. The new facility represents the college’s ongoing commitment to workforce training and career excellence, Chattanooga State President Rebecca Ashford said.
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The technical college’s new building, next to the advanced manufacturing center, will replace the aging facility that houses those programs and will provide students with access to modern equipment in a state-of-the-art building, said Bo Drake, a vice president who oversees the technical school and workforce development. Once construction is complete, the old building will be demolished and turned into a green space.
Amanda Sovago-Royal, who graduated from Chattanooga State’s massage therapy program earlier this year, said, as a student, she felt like the technical college’s administration and faculty were invested in her. To see them continue to invest in programs to change the lives of students like her is extremely important, she said.
“To me, this represents a step forward and ahead for so many students that need it, especially with the TCAT program,” she said in an interview.
In March, Sovago-Royal was named Technical College Student of the Year by the Tennessee Board of Regents. She now has her own massage therapy practice.
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The facility is projected to cost $15 million. It was funded as part of the nearly $1 billion Tennessee lawmakers dedicated to building and improving 29 facilities at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across the state in the 2024 fiscal year budget.
State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, said the new building will play a vital role in training students for in-demand careers throughout the county and state.
“By empowering students with essential skills, we’re not just preparing them for jobs, we’re preparing them for the future,” he said during the ceremony. “Investing in a technical education creates a multiplier effect, leading to higher earning potential, job creation and, of course, healthier communities.”
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.