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  5. Columbus State to create new building to meet growing needs of Auto Tech program

Columbus State to create new building to meet growing needs of Auto Tech program

Updated project will be supported with Franklin County bond funds

Campus News | Friday, January 23, 2026

Columbus State Community College is planning a new academic building specifically designed for automotive industry workforce needs. The new building will relocate and expand the college’s Automotive Technology department from its longtime home in a mixed-use, older hall on core campus.

The new building will benefit from custom-built labs, featuring high-bay spaces designed specifically for Auto Technology education. In addition, the new, $27 million, 43,000-square-foot building will be conveniently located next to Columbus State’s parking garage, providing space for the Auto Tech fleet.

“This will be a better solution for our Auto Tech program while simultaneously creating new opportunities to rethink spaces around Columbus State’s central courtyard,” said Kieran Sherry, executive director of the college’s Planning, Design, and Construction team. 

The project will benefit students working with a growing roster of manufacturer partners and preparing for the evolving needs of battery electric vehicles and other emerging technologies. New lab space will be in part dedicated to exclusive use of the existing Ford ASSET and incoming Honda PACT academic training programs and enable potential additional brand-specific partnerships for Columbus State students.

Automotive Technology currently occupies the east end of Delaware Hall, adjacent to the courtyard. Previous plans called for the college to renovate the program in its current home and expand into the former Delaware Hall gymnasium. However, further study showed that retrofitting the former gym would be more expensive than originally planned, and a new building was determined to be a more cost-effective option.

Columbus State is evaluating how best to reuse the east end of Delaware Hall when the new Auto Technology education center is completed, which is expected in summer 2028. The building is now being designed, adapting work from the Delaware Hall project. The college anticipates breaking ground in early 2027. 

The project will be funded with bond funds approved by Franklin County residents in 2020. In all, Columbus State has now committed more than half of the $300 million bond issue to improvements at the college’s downtown campus.

Other significant investments include:

  • Construction of OhioHealth Hall, a new $66.5 million academic building focused on healthcare education. The college broke ground on OhioHealth Hall in September. The building is set to open in 2027.
  • The full-building renovation of Franklin Hall into a modern classroom building. The $35 million project, using bond funds and state capital dollars, is scheduled for completion at the end of 2026.
  • More than $15 million in deferred maintenance and infrastructure projects, such as roof replacements, elevator upgrades, boiler and chiller replacements and fire alarm improvements.
  • Classroom and lab upgrades for both general education and specific in-demand programs, such as engineering technology labs that support the growth of advanced manufacturing in the region. These include renovated labs for hydraulics and vacuum technology education.

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