CEI holding groundbreaking for new 88,000-square-foot Future Tech building

EastIdahoNews.com Staff

The construction of a two-level, 88,000-square-foot energy, innovation and technology building is happening in an empty field on the north side of the Idaho Falls campus. | Courtesy CEI

The following is a news release from College of Eastern Idaho.

IDAHO FALLS – College of Eastern Idaho will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Future Tech building on Thursday, August 1, at 9:30 a.m.

The community is invited to attend and participate in the celebration.

After a three-year effort, the construction of the two-level, 88,000-square-foot energy, innovation, and technology building has begun on the north end of campus.

The State of Idaho Department of Public Works selected Andersen Construction as the General Contractor for the project at a “guaranteed maximum price” of $36,407,023. The money is being provided by state funds and generous donations from the private sector.

The state-of-the-art Future Tech building will not only be a resource for CEI but also an asset for the whole community. The College enjoys great partnerships with businesses and the community at large. Its mission is to drive economic development through cost effective higher education.

Rendering of the new Future Tech building | Courtesy CEI

In addition to classroom space, the building has areas suitable for larger gatherings — including business and civic events, collaboration space for students, and bay space. As its name suggests, the architectural design incorporates vanguard technologies engineered into the building itself. The teaching space is purposed to conduct some of the College’s most cutting-edge programs such as — cyber security, energy systems, mechatronics, nuclear technology, battery and solar technologies.

“We are simply bursting at the seams here on campus,” commented CEI outgoing President Rick Aman, “lack of classroom space limits our capacity to teach and train graduates for family wage jobs. The 88,000 square foot Future Tech Building goes a long way to solving these challenges with teaching space that is both flexible and state-of-the-art. The planning team designed Future Tech fully around the use of this building as a teaching tool, a ‘Swiss army knife’ … a multi-tooled, multi-functional, multi-purpose facility.”

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