Austin Community College breaks ground on semiconductor, auto centers
Austin Community College has broken ground on two buildings at its Round Rock campus, the first projects from the voter-approved 2022 bond package to reach such milestone.
The new buildings are funded with $50 million from the $770 million ACC bond package aimed to train Central Texas workers to meet growing job demands. The bonds will be used to fund projects in every region of the college district, including two new campuses in southern Travis County, and expand more programs in the central and north areas.
The two new Round Rock spaces, set to open preliminarily in spring 2026 and be finish by the next spring, will double the capacity of technician training programs in high-need areas of Round Rock’s growing economy ― a pressing need identified through evaluating labor market projections, data and population.
“This was the project we knew we needed to start with,” Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said. “This will allow us to meet employer demand and meet student demands and change lives in the process.”
Just north of Austin, Round Rock is part of one of the fastest growing metro areas in the United States. ACC opened its Round Rock campus in 2010, a few years before the city recorded massive growth in business and population.
“Round Rock has continued to experience economic growth thanks to our strong business environment and our education and workforce partners in the region. Thanks to major announcements and expansions from companies such as Samsung, the need for advanced manufacturing positions and those in the skilled trades has continued to grow,” Zach Scott, the director of workforce and industry development said in a statement. “ACC’s Round Rock campus expansion will continue to address the needs of our community and help to fulfill our workforce pipeline.”
Advanced manufacturing and HVAC technician training will take up one of the new spaces at the Round Rock campus, Building 5500, which will have a 24,200-square-foot footprint and a place for a future program. That building will also house the Samsung Austin Semiconductor Advanced Manufacturing Lab with the same semiconductor hands-on training capabilities available at ACC’s Highland campus. ACC and Samsung officials have previously told the American-Statesman that the additional semiconductor manufacturing lab in Round Rock will be a boon to the area as the training center will be closer to Samsung’s semiconductor plant in Taylor, which received $6.5 billion from the federal CHIPS and Science Act.
The industry employs 345,000 workers and is projected to add 115,000 jobs in six years — with 67,000 of those predicted to go unfilled, Kwee Lan Teo the head of workforce development for Samsung Austin, said in remarks before the groundbreaking in Round Rock on Friday. The ACC partnership, she said, is “instrumental” in sustaining the talent needed for the industry.
Building 4000, the second one under construction in Round Rock, will be 36,500 square feet and will house ACC’s automotive technology program and related courses, making space for welding and building construction programs to take over more of the existing building. The next phase of the bond will expand health science programs at Round Rock, another high-demand field.
“We’re doing right by our voters,” Lowery-Hart said. “We told you that we would analyze the economic realities and the job demands and leverage these funds to ensure that we were supporting what the community needs, and this is a demonstration of our commitment to voters.”
State Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, and a member of the House Higher Education Committee, called the groundbreaking a “momentous” occasion for ACC and the growing Williamson Country.
“Whether it’s young adults just beginning their journey or folks looking for a change in direction, you shouldn’t have to leave Williamson County to get and receive a great education,” he said. Friday’s “expansion and Austin Community College’s continued investment in our community are another step in making that a reality.”
Other bond projects are a $200 million campus in southeastern Travis County to address advanced manufacturing and skilled trades; an $100 million expansion in Hays County for nursing and health care; a $75 million new campus at its Pinnacle space for general education, health care offerings and software development; expansions at its San Gabriel, Cypress Creek, Elgin, Highland and Rio Grande campuses; and technology and facilities improvements at four campuses.
Forrest Sallee, a 28-year-old welding student, grew up as an artist. Her dad, a firefighter, would take Sallee and her brother in the shop with him to work on different projects. She initially wanted to be a firefighter, but her severe allergies made it impossible.
“My dad’s like, ‘Why don’t you try welding?’ ” Sallee said. At ACC, she could sign up for a class for almost no cost with the financial aid she was eligible for and try it out without interrupting her life or full-time job. When she did, she was “hooked.”
“I just took a class, and it was over,” Sallee said.
The new development will allow more students like Sallee to find their future career. Sallee said classes are very competitive due to high demand, and she emphasized how needed the expansion is.
“I never wanted to sit at a desk, so it was a matter of finding where I could fit in,” Sallee said. “I love things that are really in depth and detailed, and that’s exactly what this is. I just, I feel right at home.”
Troy DeFrates, a welding instructor at ACC and Sallee’s first instructor, said there is a waitlist for such courses.
“Right now, we’re at capacity,” DeFrates said. “There’s a large number of students that aren’t able to get in. This will double our capacity to reach more students, give more people the opportunities to get a career.”
Sallee said the courses at ACC helped her discover not only a career, but a community. She wants other people to know they can too, even before the new buildings open.
“To any student out there considering a career in the trades, my advice is really simple: Just go for it,” Sallee said. “Doesn’t matter how old you are or where you’re starting from, you don’t have to stop your life to try something new.”
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