Groundbreaking held for Henry County training center

A project that broke ground Wednesday in Henry County will provide space for a new training center.  The  center will serve companies locating in the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre in the southern part of the county.

Local officials say the Commonwealth Centre for Advanced Training (CCAT) will enable companies to recruit, hire and train employees near their new operations in the industrial park.
The facility will include about 25,000 square feet of office and training space.

The new training center is a partnership involving the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC), which will own the building; Patrick Henry Community College, which will conduct workforce training there; Henry County, which owns Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre through its Industrial Development Authority; and The Harvest Foundation, which provided a $5 million grant for the project.

EDC President/CEO Mark Heath said he believes CCAT’s location at Commonwealth Crossing will give the industrial park an competitive edge. Employees can be recruited, hired, and trained on-site while a plant is being constructed, according to city of Martinsville Mayor Gene Teague.

The EDC has hired the architectural firm of RRMM of Roanoke and contractors G&H Construction of Salem for the project.

The CCAT partners hope to begin construction on the building by the end of the year. It likely will take 12 to 18 months to complete.