LILLINGTON - Central Carolina Community College's Health Sciences Building, now under construction in the Brightwater Science and Technology Campus, impressed college and local government officials Oct. 17 as they toured the facility. They saw not only what it is - a building under construction, but also what it will be.

"I am really thankful to see this facility," said Harnett County Commissioner Beatrice Hill. As a commissioner for 22 years, Hill has seen the county's growth and the increasing need for health care education and providers.

"I feel the county has done an excellent job," she said. "For Harnett County residents, this will mean education, training and employment."

The two-story, 50,400-square-foot concrete panel and steel building is located on 4.75 acres on Crested Iris Drive. The $8.2 million facility consists of a two-story main building connected by a vestibule to a one-story multipurpose building.

The Health Sciences Building is about 35 percent complete, according to Scott Cooper, project manager for general contractors Brasfield & Gorrie. Construction work started in June and is expected to be complete by May 2013.

College administrators and board of trustees, as well as members of the Harnett County Board of Commissioners and Lillington Town Council, donned hard hats and reflective vests to tour the interior of the building. Cooper and John Reeves, construction superintendent, led the visitors in small groups through the facility.

Hallways and rooms are now delineated by what appears to be a maze of steel studs. They will soon be covered with walls to create seven laboratories, a library, an auditorium, 10 classrooms, 10 offices, and four student study spaces.

"It is absolutely spectacular, beautiful from top to bottom even under construction," said Dr. Bud Marchant, CCCC president. "The college is proud to partner with the county and the Harnett Forward Together Committee on this forward-thinking project that will benefit so many."

Once the physical facility is complete, it will be furnished and equipped for state-of-the-art health care training. The college expects to hold some classes in it starting in fall 2013, with semester courses starting in spring 2014.

The building will house CCCC health care continuing education and curriculum programs such as nurse aide, phlebotomy, EKG, pharmacy technician, medical assisting, physical therapy assisting, and Associate Degree Nursing.

"The value this training facility is going to bring to Harnett County - not just the college, is almost immeasurable," said Clem Medley, a CCCC trustee and Harnett County resident. "In just a few years, people will sit back and think what a great thing was done. We are thrilled about it."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Dunn micropolitan area, including all of Harnett County, is the fastest growing micropolitan area in the nation. In the 15-month period ending July 2011, the population grew by 4,578, bringing the total to 119, 256. With population growth comes the need for education and health care providers to meet their needs.

In response, what the county commissioners are calling a "421 medical corridor" is being established. CCCC's Health Sciences Building is one of several medical-related facilities under construction or in planning along the corridor, which runs through the Lillington-Dunn area.

That includes the 50-bed Harnett Health Central Campus Hospital, also in Brightwater. It is scheduled to open in about three months. The hospital can expand to up to 150 beds in the future. A cooperative agreement between the college and Harnett Health will enable students to do clinical training at the hospital. The Health Sciences Building will have space to provide continuing education programs for hospital workers.

Among the other health care providers along the corridor are Campbell University's School of Osteopathic Medicine, East Carolina University's Dental Center, First Choice Community Health Center, Good Hope Hospital's inpatient psychiatric facility, and Smith-Packett Nursing Home.

The medical providers and support businesses are expected to employ a couple thousand people within the next few years. Many of them will come out of the college's programs.

"CCCC's facility will be one of the anchors of the corridor," said Harnett County Manager Scott Sauer. "The county board of commissioners envisions this facility as training highly skilled and qualified personnel to work in all these facilities."

The development team for the project is Red Rock Developments, BBH Design architects, and Brasfield & Gorrie. The structure type is tilt-up concrete, in which the wall panels were cast in forms on the ground and lifted by a crane.

The Harnett Forward Together Committee, a private, non-profit corporation that promotes the county and its development, owns the property on which the Health Sciences Building sits. Harnett County has a 25-year lease agreement.

For more information about continuing education and curriculum health care programs at CCCC, visit its web site, www.cccc.edu.