Tri-County Technical College re-opened the doors to a newly renovated academic building, Oconee Hall, on Nov. 20 as college leaders, commissioners, faculty, staff, students and community partners gathered for a celebratory ribbon cutting and tour.
Faculty will move into Oconee Hall in December with students attending classes in spring 2025, according to a news release.
Over the past 20 months, Oconee Hall underwent a complete renovation which increased the building’s size by 44% while retaining 87% of the original structure steel.
Tri-County Technical College President Galen DeHay thanked the TCTC Commission for “recognizing the need to renovate this building and supporting the renovation project from start to finish,” along with the Anderson, Oconee and Pickens County legislative delegations, for securing $5 million in state capital appropriations in support of the project.
The $22 million renovation includes professional fees, construction, IT infrastructure and furniture, fixtures and equipment, the release stated.
DeHay also thanked the Cannon Charitable Trust for their donation of $285,000, which was used to purchase and install the building’s elevator.
DP3 Architects was the architectural firm, and the contractor was Harper General Contractors.
The Oconee Hall building showcases the skills of welding students, their faculty and staff, who fabricated TCTC letters that are stationed at the plaza entrance.
Welding Department head Matt Woodall said the letters were customized with no material specifications or fabrication methods included by the architects or engineers. TCTC’s CNC program also assisted with editing the CAD drawings provided to produce a “wave” that runs between the letters, Woodall said in the release.
“It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students to work on something of this magnitude that will be appreciated by all for years to come. It’s opportunities like these that showcase the true talent of the programs we have at TCTC,” Woodall said in the release.
When Oconee Hall opened in 1980, it was the first multi-level structure on the college’s Pendleton campus. The 36,000-square-foot building housed some of the most modern classrooms and laboratories and virtually every student in every program received training in general education courses in the building, according to the release.
Forty-four years later, with TCTC’s enrollment topping 5,800, Oconee Hall is still the busiest building on the Pendleton Campus with roughly 80% of students taking at least one class there.
Mandy Elmore, TCTC vice president of academic affairs and workforce development, recognized the College’s Arts and Sciences faculty and staff, adding that their “dedication and commitment to our students is what will make this newly transformed teaching and learning environment thrive.”
“But more than these physical spaces, this building is a place for you to learn, grow and challenge yourself,” Elmore said in the release. “It is a place where ideas can come to life. It is a hub for creativity, learning and personal transformation.”
Tri-County Technical College serves Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. It offers more than 70 major fields of study.
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