Events
Transformational Wake Tech Location Opens in Wendell
WENDELL, N.C. (April 25, 2024) – Residents of eastern Wake County, local officials and future students got their first look on Thursday at Wake Tech's newest location.
More than 2,000 people celebrated as Wake Tech East officially opened with food, fanfare and fun. The 106-acre site is located off Rolesville Road at Interstate 87. College leaders offered tours of the first three buildings on the future campus:
- Education and Innovation Center – The hub for academic programs, Admissions, resources and student activities
- Public Safety Simulation Complex – The most comprehensive public safety training facility in North Carolina
- Central Energy Plant – An award-winning facility that provides sustainable heating and cooling for the site and serves as a training center for EV and renewable energy programs.
"We're tremendously excited about bringing Wake Tech closer to this dynamic and rapidly growing area,” said Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls. "We have campuses all across Wake County – north, south, west and now east – so that we can reach students wherever they are."
The following degree programs will be offered at Wake Tech East, starting in the fall:
- Associate in Arts
- Associate in Science
- Associate in Engineering
- Emergency Medical Science Associate in Applied Science
And that's not all. For students who wish to pursue advanced credentials, Elizabeth City State University will be on site, offering Aviation and Unmanned Aircraft Systems programs. East Carolina University will also be there, with its Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology degree program.
The Education and Innovation Center features smart classrooms, state-of-the-art chemistry and physics labs, an auditorium, a library and a tutoring center. There are also student gathering spaces and dining options. The $72 million, 118,000-square-foot facility was designed by BSA LifeStructures, McKim & Creed and SEPI Engineering and was built by Monteith Construction.
The unique Public Safety Simulation Complex features a 4D immersive streetscape for training first responders from Wake County and beyond. It is the state's most realistic simulated village for force-on-force training, with EMS ambulance bays and a driver training track that supports emergency vehicle and pursuit training. The $40 million, 76,000-square-foot facility was designed by Boomerang Design and built by Balfour Beatty.
The Central Energy Plant is the first facility in North Carolina to earn a Four Green Globes® certification for sustainability from the Green Building Initiative (GBI) and was just named GBI's Green Globes Project of the Year. HH Architecture designed the 15,700-square-foot facility, which was constructed by Skanska.
"We're extremely excited to welcome this important new center for education and training – a truly remarkable resource – to our county," said Shinica Thomas, chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. "It will provide a wealth of higher education options for students and support the critical work of public safety for our community."
The college will break ground on two more buildings at Wake Tech East this year. An Advanced Technology Center will be the new home of Wake Tech's Biopharmaceutical Technology program, with a realistic biopharma simulated workspace and a systems integration lab for advanced manufacturing. The campus will also house a Fire and Rescue Services Training Complex that will feature a Class-A burn building, a training tower and a vehicle extrication ditch.
The first phase of development at Wake Tech East was funded through the $349 million bond that Wake County voters overwhelmingly approved in 2018.
