DMACC Breaks Ground on New Trades & Industry Center

DMACC leaders, students, industry partners and alumni gathered Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of DMACC's new Trades & Industry Center, a 72,000-square-foot facility that will expand and modernize hands-on training for high-demand career in the skilled trades.

Construction for the $34 million building - which will be located on the northeast side of Ankeny Campus - began earlier this fall. The state-of-the-art center will house five DMACC programs: Building Trades, HVAC, Diesel Technology, Fire Science, and Iowa's only Ford Training Center. It will replace DMACC's aging Buildings 14 and 20, which were constructed in the 1960s.

"This new facility marks a powerful investment in opportunity, in innovation, and in the skilled hands that build and power our communities," DMACC President Rob Denson said at the groundbreaking event, to a crowd of around 200 students, staff, and community members.

"These students represent the next generation of professionals who will keep our economy running - building our homes, keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and keep us safe. There's a high demand for these industries, and our students are rising to the challenges in their respective fields. What's missing is a facility that matches their dedication and readiness. But we're about to change that."

Denson noted that DMACC's enrollment in trades and industry programs has remained consistently at capacity, underscoring the strong demand for skilled professionals across Iowa.

"This isn't just infrastructure - it's impact," Denson said. "In every professional field, the environment in which students learn matters. May this be a place where potential is discovered, skills are sharpened, and futures are built."

Designed by Des Moines-based architecture firm DLR Group and managed by Ryan Companies, the Trades & Industry Center is envisioned as a collaborative, flexible space that will mirror real-world job sites, with shared work bays and large-scale labs connected to modern classrooms.

"This new building is a testament to our commitment to addressing workforce gaps," said Jenny Foster, Executive Academic Dean of Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades & Transportation. "It will allow us to train students with the same tools and technologies they'll use in their careers and continue to align classroom learning directly with industry and employer expectations."

Training for Today and Tomorrow

That alignment isn't just a talking point - industry partners who hire DMACC graduates from these trade programs affirmed the sentiment, saying it's evident in the quality of the workforce that funnels through DMACC.

"When we see a DMACC graduate apply for a fire department job, they stand above the rest," said Mike Whitesell, West Des Moines Fire Marshal, who also sits on the DMACC Fire Science Advisory Board. "The partnerships DMACC has built with departments across the state are tremendous, and this facility will only help that grow."

Chase Cummins, a second-year Fire Science student recently hired by the Fort Dodge Fire Department, said he earned the career opportunity because the DMACC Fire Science Technology program is "led by the most dedicated instructors and leadership who put their utmost effort into providing the students with the most top-notch education and training."

"The decades of firefighting experience that our instructors hold allows DMACC students not only to meet the standard of hiring set by area departments, but become the standard for other applicants to chase," Chase said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "This new addition is truly an investment in my fellow students' futures and the future of every student that comes thereafter, providing students with the most advanced training, education and technology for decades to come."

Representing Ruan Transportation Management Systems at the groundbreaking, Maintenance Operations Leader Ben Steines called the new building a significant investment that will "help cement DMACC as a premier institution for educations generations of Iowans."

Steines said Ruan, a longtime supporter of the Diesel Technology program and Transportation Institute, also proudly employs dozens of technicians who trained at DMACC, including Jenny Gries, a second-year Deisel Technology student who's already landed a job at the Iowa-based company.

"Trades run the country - and the world," Jenny said. At 34-years-old, Jenny wished she'd enrolled at DMACC 10 years earlier.

"I just hope I get invited back to tear the old building down," Jenny said.

Jenny (pictured above) is one of several students featured in our "Your Future Skilled Trades" series on social media. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Construction for the Industry & Trades Center is expected to be complete by Fall 2027. DMACC continues to raise funds to support the project and its long-term vision to strengthen Iowa's workforce through hands-on career-focused education. Learn more here.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Savannah Eadens

DMACC Public Relations

[email protected] | 515-675-3275