There is a new center for workforce development for Huntsville City students. It shares a campus with the new central office for the school system.

The Central Office and Center for Technology had a ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Thursday morning. Several city and school leaders, like Mayor Tommy Battle, former Superintendent Christy Finley and school board members opened the center.

“Today we celebrate the great opening of both of these transformative facilities,” school board member Ryan Renaud said. ”This milestone is not about brick and mortar. It is more about creating space for growth and opportunity for our students to succeed, and providing resources that elevate our entire school system.”

The $40 million center covers over 120,000 square feet on North Memorial Parkway and Max Luther Drive.

Some Huntsville City School system administrators are already working in the new central office on the day of the grand opening.

Leaders say that this is a modern building with a collaborative workspace to support effective operations and leadership.

Before the central office opened, administrators were scattered throughout the city. School district leaders sold their last building, the historic Annie Merts Center, to a local developer in 2022. The property that now holds the central office and Center for Technology was purchased in 2017.

“We know that this will bring excellence in education, in the heart of Huntsville, when we bought this property six years ago,” Mayor Battle said. “We bought it with the idea that this property was going to be very important to our area, because it’s a good signature piece for the whole city, going up and down the Parkway, you will come to this building, and you know what it’s about, it’s about the national association.”

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Students in workforce development will also be more centralized. They will come from their schools to take classes at the new Center for Technology.

It’s a modern, state-of-the-art two-story building with plenty of workforce options for students to enjoy.

The facility features specialized labs and classrooms, a 3D printing lab and multipurpose areas, like a dining space, a commercial kitchen for culinary arts and an outdoor greenpower track for electric car design, build and race experiences.

Upon entering, students will find a large modern lobby that will lead them to specialized rooms designed to train students to be welders, electricians or chefs. Upstairs, there are areas designed for students who want to train to be cosmetologists, build electric cars and more.

The Center for Technology adds two new career and technical educational programs: Automotive Technology and Industrial Technology. Other programs include building construction, advanced manufacturing design, advanced health science, greenpower, precision machining and education.

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“The Career Tech Center in particular is a game changer,” Renaud said. “After students receive real-world training, they are equipped to go out and work. And the reason this is so critical, every student will not go to college because they don’t want to go to a traditional four-year college, but Huntsville city schools can send them out making a wage.”

On Aug. 4, approximately 700 students will become the Center for Technology’s inaugural class.