Construction continues Dec. 29 on the Victor K. Phillips Nursing building at Butler County Community College. The college has received $500,000 in a federal grant to purchase equipment and technology for the classrooms and laboratories. An August opening is being planned. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Butler County Community College trustees learned Wednesday that the college received $500,000 in a federal grant earmarked to purchase equipment and technology to furnish classrooms, laboratories and simulation lab of the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building.

When requesting the funding in December, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said the funding will help provide students with “a high-quality, affordable nursing education that will help address critical nursing shortages and provide students with access to in-demand, well-paying jobs in Western Pennsylvania.”

Work on the building is continuing on pace for a planned August opening for its first classes.

Brian Opitz, executive director of the operations department, told the trustees the construction of the Phillips building and the renovation of the old social science building to be combined with the Phillips building is now mostly confined to building interiors.

Optiz said windows have been installed and interior walls and framing is well underway in the new building, while interior work is nearing completion in the former social science building.

Work on the former social science building is expected to be completed by the end of January, while construction of the Phillips building is set for May.

Optiz said that after construction is completed, the Phillips building must be finished with furniture, fixtures and lab equipment in time for faculty to move in by July, in advance of the first classes in the building in August.

The only hiccup in the project, the board learned, was an additional cost of about $37,000 to Right Electric to replace existing cable and fiber wiring. The architect, Stantec, had assumed existing cable and fiber could be reused in the Phillips construction. It was later determined the cable and fiber would have to be replaced.

The trustees voted to approve the change order.

Opitz added the cost for the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building project was expected to total $18.2 million, paid for through a combination of state funds ($11 million), private contributions ($6.7 million) and federal grants ($500,000).

Opitz said another building project, BC3 @ Armstrong, is nearing completion with HVAC systems being installed in the near future, followed by the delivery of furniture and other building systems. The building is planned to be open for students in March.

The college broke ground for the 15,000-square-foot facility at 1100 Fourth Ave. in Ford City in February. It will replace the current BC3 @ Armstrong campus in Manor Township.

Planning for ribbon-cutting ceremonies for both BC3 @ Armstrong and the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building is underway. Specific dates are still being finalized for the Ford City ceremony.

A black-tie event for Phillips is planned for Sept. 16 and a more informal, community event is slated for Sept. 20.

In a related note, BC3 president Nick Neupauer told board members the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing will visit the campus Feb. 14 through Feb. 16. The nursing program is in the process of reaccreditation.