Construction continues on future LOUMED facility
2 min read
Jefferson Community and Technical College’s new science building may be a year away from opening, but the project hit a milestone Monday when the final steel beam was raised and installed in the structure’s exterior.
The ceremony to honor the five-minute process of lifting the beam is a small, but significant step in JCTC’s $90 million “Jefferson Rising” project, which will include new facilities and amenities at the downtown campus. Besides the science building, the project also calls for a courtyard and a parking garage to replace the existing lot.
The new science building will be part of the growing Louisville Medical and Education District, also known as LOUMED. The district, a collaboration between JCTC, the University of Louisville, UofL Health and Norton Healthcare, seeks to bolster economic growth in downtown Louisville by adding new health faculties and making a 22-block area more pedestrian-friendly.
JCTC President Ty Handy said the 37,000-square foot science center under construction will allow the college to move out of laboratories that are more than 40 years old. Handy said the building would make JCTC’s science program “the best it can possibly be.”
Most of the cost for the $25 million science building will be covered by state funding, Handy said. In a speech to attendees of the ceremony, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said economic development has been a priority for Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, adding that the state has added $32 billion in that area statewide since 2020.
“We know that investing in our students and schools is more important than ever, given that is our economic future we’re looking at,” Coleman said. “And we know that our future is going to be in those classrooms very, very soon.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the “Jefferson Rising” project is “critical” to economic growth in the city.
“What Jefferson College is doing is so critical to the future of our city and our state, educating people in the jobs of today and the jobs we won’t even know exist tomorrow,” he said.
The new additions on campus, located off West Broadway between First and Second streets, are expected to be open to the public when the fall 2025 semester begins, according to JCTC’s website.
Reporter Olivia Evans contributed.
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at [email protected] or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
More:When do JCPS students start? What you need to know about back-to-school
link
