Austin Community College cut the ribbon Thursday on a 36,500-square-foot Automotive Technology facility at its Round Rock Campus, more than doubling the space the school previously had for hands-on auto training. The building folds in modern labs, dedicated training bays, and a space built specifically for ACC's partnership with Toyota — a signal the college is betting big on churning out skilled technicians as the industry shifts under their feet.
The ribbon-cutting, held on October 8, marks the completion of a project funded through ACC's 2022 General Obligation Bond, according to the college. The new space includes modern automotive labs, hands-on learning areas, and dedicated training zones, plus a section carved out for ACC's Technician Training and Education Network, or T-TEN, partnership with Toyota.
That Toyota partnership isn't just a footnote. ACC's T-TEN program was recently recognized by Toyota as the nation's top-performing T-TEN school for student success, per the college's announcement. ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell-Lowery Hart framed the new building as a direct response to industry demand, saying, “This new building allows us to expand our automotive program, directly aligned with industry partners.”
A Partnership Years in the Making
ACC's Toyota partnership includes its T-TEN program, which is part of automotive training at the Round Rock Campus.
The new facility is designed with an eye toward where the industry is heading next, not just where it's been. ACC says the building was built to support potential future Battery Electric Vehicle training as part of its broader mission to prepare students for emerging automotive technologies.
Electric Vehicles and a State Grant
That EV push already has some momentum behind it. ACC recently received roughly $330,000 from the Texas Workforce Commission's Jobs and Education for Texans Grant Program to expand hands-on training in battery-electric vehicles and fleet maintenance technology, the college announced in September. The grant will fund industry-standard battery-electric vehicle and fleet-maintenance equipment, though that training is currently based at ACC's Riverside Campus, with plans to expand it to Round Rock.
ACC has said the broader goal is to prepare students for careers spanning automotive technology, fleet maintenance, and emerging transportation technologies — a framing that lines up with what ACC's advanced manufacturing dean told Community Impact, pointing to advances in automation, robotics and semiconductor production as drivers of growing demand for skilled technicians and engineers.
More Expansion Still to Come
The automotive building is just one piece of a larger build-out at the Round Rock Campus. ACC has semiconductor training, heating/air conditioning and refrigeration technology, and welding technology expansions underway, with those additional facilities expected to open in 2027.
ACC's approach echoes a pattern playing out at community colleges elsewhere. Central Community College in Hastings, Nebraska, opened its own $23 million, 42,000-square-foot automotive careers training center after planners considered how the facility would serve the industry's needs over five-, 10- and 20-year horizons, according to Aftermarket Matters. That Nebraska center, which houses auto body and automotive technology programs alongside a welding lab and parts suite, drew nearly 250 people to its own ribbon-cutting.
