GREENPORT — Columbia-Greene Community College is receiving $1 million in state funding to expand its construction and historic preservation facility.
The expansion, which will include the enlargement of the college’s Construction Technology Center, seeks to fill a gap of workers in the regional construction industry while supplying good-paying jobs.
The funding comes through a State and Municipal Facilities Grant secured by Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, who represents parts of Columbia and Dutchess counties.
The grant will help the college “establish a robust workforce training program to meet the increasing demands in the construction industry for those with skills in the historic trades,” according to Barrett’s office.
“The Hudson Valley’s long history is reflected in centuries of striking buildings – iconic wooden barns, brick or stone houses, riverfront estates and more – and there is a continuing need to repair and restore these wonderful structures,” Barrett said in a statement. “Training the next generation of construction tradespeople, particularly those skilled in woodworking, masonry, stone and plaster work and armed with the knowledge to run their own businesses, is a win-win because it trains and attracts a workforce for a need that is never ending — especially when it comes to repairing or repurposing older buildings.”
Renovating old homes is popular and often necessary, as the area’s housing stock is aging. In Columbia County, for instance, 54 percent of all homes are over 50 years old, and 31 percent were built before 1940, according to a report by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.
Skilled workers are also needed for the construction of new homes, and industry evidence suggests there will be a boom in the Twin Counties in the coming years. Housing inventory is low, with few homes on the market, and new permits for single-family homes have recently surged to their highest point since 2008, rising more than 57 percent in Greene County and more than 42 percent in Columbia County between 2020 and 2021.
The grant will allow more students, both full-time and nontraditional, to enroll in construction and historical preservation classes. The program is currently able to seat 16 students, but others had to be turned away this year, according to CGCC spokesperson Maureen Sager-Johns.
CGCC President Carlee Drummer called the Building Construction Technology/Historic Preservation program, which holds classes in the Construction Technology Center, “incredibly popular” since its introduction in 2019.
Drummer “would love” to see the program double to 32 students, she said.
The college focuses on giving students skill sets that would lead to good jobs with a focus on keeping the graduates local, Drummer said. The program was well-suited for this, since it puts an emphasis on restoring old properties, something that has seen great interest in the county in recent years, she added.