$42M Heights CareerTech Institute Breaks Ground, Opening Doors for Harlem Heights Youth

Construction kicked off at Gladiolus Drive and Pine Ridge Road, where a $42 million technical school will rise in Lee County's Harlem Heights area.

With $27.5 million in funding secured, the Heights Foundation will build a center to train 500 students in skilled trades. Workers have stripped the site bare and are hauling in 150,000 yards of dirt to raise the ground.

"The industry-credentialed courses will provide pathways to high-paying, sustainable careers, directly supporting the economic growth and vitality in the region," states the Heights Foundation per the Business Observer.

This school aims to lift up a community hit hard by financial struggles. In Harlem Heights, poverty strikes twice as often as the rest of the county. Most families earn just 60% of what others make nearby.

The building will stretch two stories high, with construction set to wrap up next year.