Construction of the Career and Technical Institute will begin soon at Bismarck State College.

Groundbreaking is May 10 on the $13.5 million building. Completion is anticipated in spring 2008.

"It's going to be a fabulous addition to campus," Executive Vice President Dave Clark said.

The Career and Technical Institute building is a separate building from the Bismarck Public School District's career and technical education center, which would be used for career and technical education classes. The school district's building would be paid by the school district and built on land leased from BSC.

The BSC Career and Technical Institute building will have three completed stories, one unfinished story and some unfinished classroom space. The building will be 106,000 square feet. The finished space is 73,000 square feet.

Programs that will move to the new building include the college's energy programs, work force training, bachelor degree programs from other institutions, space for economic development activity and office space for the Bismarck State College Foundation.

The foundation is responsible for much of the funding for the building. It started a fund drive to raise the money. The college also received funding through the state's Center of Excellence for its energy programs and federal money through help from the North Dakota delegation. Clark said it is a combination of private sector, public sector and city level funding.

Some money has come from the college's budget for the architectural and engineering work, he said. The college also started some work on the site last year, with construction of the parking lot and wells for the underground heat pump system.

Because the foundation provided the donated funds for the building, the college is leasing the building from the foundation. The terms of the lease are not yet complete, Clark said.

"It will likely occur before occupancy," he said.

Contractors have been selected for the construction. Capital City Construction is the general contractor, Central Mechanical has the mechanical contract and Skeel's Electric has the electrical contract.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)