Construction has started on the Make It Center at Austin Community College. The Center will be housed at ACC Highland Campus to connect interests, strengths, and passions to meaningful career pathways and well-paying job opportunities in Central Texas.

The following update has been provided by Dr. Janelle Green, ACC Make It Center  director:

Vaughn, the contractors, put up the temporary construction wall the week of ACC’s spring break. The Center received notice that the application for the City of Austin permit was approved and received on March 19. Construction on the Make It Center space started on March 21. Temporary partitions and demolition on the first floor are complete, and Vaugn has completed its internal electrical/data rough-in inspections. The City of Austin inspections take place this month and after inspections, they will begin to close up the walls. The Make It Center team was able to do the in-wall rough-in walk through of the space in June.

Conference Technologies, Inc. was awarded the audio/visual contract for the Center. The A/V change order was processed by ACC Contracts in June, and procurement will start next.

Furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) orders are moving into the college’s purchasing process. Solicitations are expected to begin.

In regards to staffing, the college has hired its supervisor of Operations and Guest Experience, supervisor of Programming, and manager of IT/AV. A coordinator for Programming is in the hiring process.

As for programming, the team has been meeting with departments and academic units throughout the college, most recently with:

  • ACCTV to discuss collaborating to create video content for the showroom exhibits and to brainstorm future programming ideas,
  • ACC’s Biotechnology Incubator and the Science Mill about showroom activities and programs that can be offered in the center,
  • Junior Achievement about possible partnerships and programs that can be offered in the Center related to business and entrepreneurship,
  • E3 Alliance about hosting a November event in the center for select guests and dignitaries as a presentation of recent research findings,
  • The ACE Academy team about FabLab projects and programming ideas, and
  • Various vendors for product demos related to Make It Center programming.

Substantial construction is expected to be completed in late October, at which time furniture, fixtures, and equipment will be able to be brought into the space.

Learn more about the center here and view the last update from fall 2021 here.