Daily News

HCC, STCC Receive $5.5 Million from State for Capital Projects

HOLYOKE — Gov. Charlie Baker announced this week that two local community colleges will receive $5.5 million for capital projects: $2.5 million for Holyoke Community College, and $3 million for Springfield Technical Community College.

He said the funds are part of the administration’s capital-investment plan, with an eye on closing a persistent ‘skills gap’ in the Commonwealth, between the skills employers require and those of currently available workers. Closing that gap, he said at a press conference announcing the grants, is “critically important to us and critically important to the success of the Commonwealth.”

HCC will build a new, more energy-efficient campus center. The current facility houses several classrooms, the campus bookstore, dining services, and a media center. STCC plans to renovate Building 19 into a new student-learning commons.