As Rosedale Technical College continuously works to transform the student experience throughout its 75th anniversary year, the College is excited to celebrate the completion of Phase II construction at its Kennedy Township location. This includes new labs and classrooms for construction-related programs. Phase II construction was completed with financial support from a $1 million grant provided through the State of Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) and an exciting new partnership with Johnson Controls.
In conjunction with National Skilled Trades Day, Rosedale Tech hosted a grand opening celebration and tradeshow to showcase the newly constructed spaces on Wednesday, May 1. During the tradeshow and grand opening celebrations, in addition to tours of the new spaces, companies will be onsite to exhibit their latest technologies and equipment. Guests will have the opportunity to not only see the newest spaces, but also the continuous improvements of Phase I and the #1 Cochran Technological Excellence Center.
The new space includes 2 labs and 3 classrooms, featuring the Johnson Controls Lab and Dean Residence. As part of a generous $80,000 monetary and equipment contribution, the Johnson Controls lab has fully active training displays which includes a fire alarm system, sprinkler system, suppression system, security system and HVAC system to provide students with career-specific hands-on experience.
“It has been a truly rewarding experience helping this partnership grow over the past 5 years into what it is today,” said Johnson Controls Fire Installation Manager, Brian Allan. “The Johnson Controls team, along with our Rosedale tech partners, have created a program that provides the most relevant technology and curriculum today to help shape career path opportunities for the next generation of building technician.”
The Dean Residence, a commemorative lab space that honors Dean Tech, a local Pittsburgh trade school that merged with Rosedale Tech in 2019, is another featured lab that provide residential construction simulations for electricity, HVAC, and other construction related programs. The new classrooms incorporate a hybrid concept that combines theory with hands-on learning approaches.
“It has been an electrifying experience watching these spaces come to life,” said Rosedale Tech president Dennis Wilke. “Our business is centered entirely around our students and the economic impact our training offers to the region. The new labs and classrooms exemplify our commitment to training a future workforce for our region and are going to significantly transform the way we educate our students for careers that are making an impact on our nation. We are excited to continue using the spaces and move into the next phases of renovations at our campus.”
In addition to the generous contributions of Johnson Controls, Phase II construction received $1 million grant support from RACP grant program, which is managed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Office of the Budget (OB) for economic development projects throughout the state. The contribution was first announced in December 2021. Support from Senators Wayne Fontana and Jay Costa along with former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald helped Rosedale Tech receive this tremendous award.
Rosedale Tech has begun utilizing the spaces within its trade-related programs and will continue to add to the labs and classrooms. With the completion of Phase II construction, Rosedale Tech will move onto the next phase of construction, which includes expanding classrooms to a second floor increasing the training areas for various programs.