May 17—The city of Aiken will soon receive the funds it needs to construct a workforce development center for the Savannah River National Lab in downtown Aiken.
The Joint Bond Review Committee accepted a report Tuesday morning allocating $20 million from the state's settlement with the Department of Energy over plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site to the city of Aiken for the construction of a Savannah River National Laboratory workforce development center.
The Joint Bond Review Committee studies and monitors policies and procedures related to permanent improvements in the state. Members include five members each from the Senate and the House. S.C. Sen. Nikki Setzler, a Democrat whose district includes eastern Aiken County, is one of the Senate members.
The workforce development center, announced at the annual State of the City address in January, is expected to be around 45,000 square feet in size. Announced proposed plans indicate a T-shaped building located where the Holley House and Warneke Cleaners are now.
The facility is expected to house around 100-150 permanent employees of the national laboratory, its manager and operator (Battelle Savannah River Alliance) and a rotating group of university faculty members that would work on critical projects as part of the BSRA university consortium.
The university consortium includes the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, South Carolina State University, the University of Georgia Research Foundation and Georgia Tech.
Information provided to the Joint Bond Review Committee indicates the contract to construct the workforce development center could be signed in July with construction completed in July 2025.
Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said Tuesday the city submitted paperwork requesting the funding in December and at that time July seemed a reasonable timeline. Now, he said that timeline has been pushed back to a later date.