Ozarks Tech to cut ribbon on multimillion-dollar aviation center

Ozarks Technical Community College is set to cut the ribbon this month on a multimillion-dollar aviation maintenance and training center at the former Springfield-Branson National Airport terminal.

A 1 p.m. event on June 11 is set to mark the public debut of the Roy Blunt Aviation Training Center at 4960 W. Kearney St., according to a media advisory from Ozarks Tech.

"Local legislators, city officials and representatives from the Springfield-Branson National Airport and national airlines are expected to attend," Ozarks Tech officials said in the advisory. "The state-of-the-art facility includes four classrooms, two lab rooms and an 11,000-square-foot hangar with flexible instructional space."

Ozarks Tech broke ground on the center in October 2023 to serve its airframe and powerplant program debuting in 2025. Past Springfield Business Journal reporting put the cost at $13.2 million for the nearly 30,000-square-foot project, with Killian Construction Co. serving as general contractor for the work designed by project architect nForm Architecture LLC and landscape architect frankZdesign LLC. 

Ozarks Tech announced in May that its airframe and powerplant program had started taking applications for the first cohort to launch this fall, with Federal Aviation Administration certification available. 

Plumbing program
Ozarks Tech announced in a separate news release yesterday that the community college would launch a short-term plumbing course this month "in response to increasing demand for skilled maintenance professionals in southwest Missouri."

The June 23-27 plumbing for maintenance technicians course at Ozarks Tech's Springfield campus is designed to expand the knowledge of existing industry workers.

"This training is a smart investment for facilities teams, especially in today’s market where contractors are in high demand with a limited labor pool to pull from," said Greg Davis, Ozarks Tech plumbing instructor, in the release.

Grant funding may help cover tuition, officials say, pointing to a cost of $1,350 for in-district students.