Site work and new construction of an educational facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Completed plans call for the construction of a one-story above grade educational facility.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/hyundai-rpcc-training-center/article_38b4d935-de0e-48f3-a3d0-d468c9b81768.html Gov. Jeff Landry and other officials heralded the future Donaldsonville campus of River Parishes Community College as "a transformation" for Louisiana during a groundbreaking ceremony Friday afternoon. "You get to now imagine a state where every job finds a worker, and every worker finds a purpose," Landry said to the roughly 300-person crowd on the land where the future 19-acre campus will be. "Where our children grow up believing that opportunity isn't something that you chase, it's something that you can count on right here in this state." The RPCC Hyundai Steel Training Center is a partnership between the community college system and Hyundai, which plans to construct a $5.8 billion steel mill north of the city. The center -- located along La. 945 -- is expected to open in late 2027 and will train the future workforce for proposed industrial projects in the region. Many officials across the region attended the event, including the Ascension Parish government, Donaldsonville city council and Ascension council and school board members. Newly-appointed Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Richard Nelson spoke, along with State Senator Ed Price, D-Gonzales, and Representative Ken Brass, D-Vacherie. RPCC Chancellor Quintin Taylor opened the event, thanking Landry and other officials for their help and touting the 1,300 direct new jobs the steel mill is expected to create. "It's going to be beautiful, and we're going to train 1,300 people to get jobs," he said. "The 1,300 must come from this community and this region." $600 million planned for Hyundai Funding for the campus, which comes with a roughly $30 million price tag, is part of the total $600 million officials are investing in bringing Hyundai to Louisiana. State and local officials plan to spend that amount on other developments, including a new wastewater treatment plant and road and rail upgrades. Louisiana Community and Technical College System and the state of Louisiana paid around $1 million in November for site. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the direct new jobs created by the steel mill are expected to have an average salary of $95,000. The facility will be located within the RiverPlex MegaPark, an area larger than Manhattan that parish officials have designated for future industrial growth. The Hyundai steel mill is planned for construction near the rural community of Modeste, and many residents have expressed opposition to the plans. Many officials discussed the economic opportunities they say the Hyundai mill and technical college will bring to the entire River Parishes region. In his speech, Rep. Brass said that the opportunity brought the important need to hire and train local residents, businesses and contractors. "With great economic development opportunity comes the responsibility of being committed to investing in training opportunities at RPCC and local school districts across this region in an effort to encourage hiring local residents," he said. Realization of a dream The day was especially personal for Justice of the Peace Tamiko Francis Garrison, who said it is the realization of a dream of her mother, Janet G. Francis. In the mid-1990s, while Garrison's father, Bernard J. Francis Sr., served as Donaldsonville's mayor, her mother wrote a letter to the Baton Rouge Community College chancellor requesting that a campus be built in Donaldsonville. "Here we are almost 30 years later, and we're actually at a groundbreaking for it," Garrison said. She said that the event was emotional and would be "life-changing" for Donaldsonville and the region, because she had to leave Louisiana to find work after graduating from college. "I couldn't stay here to get a job, so I had to move all the way to Arizona. I moved in 1990," she said. "To be able to graduate high school from either Donaldsonville High or Ascension Catholic, and then get to stay right here and make money and provide for your family, build a house You know, that's powerful." _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The objective is to identify a qualified Louisiana State Licensed General Contractor to join the Corporation and the Architect to perform Preconstruction Phase Services for the River Parishes Community College, Training Facility Project as Preconstruction Manager (PCM). Should the Corporation accept a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposal from the PCM, the selected contractor will also perform Construction Phase Services as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the Project. Statements of Qualifications are requested for the provision of these services.