News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
TCAT Crossville wants the City of Crossville to donate a lot on Interchange Drive to create a second campus location.
The college currently uses part of the seven-plus acres for its truck driving program. Crossville TCAT President Cliff Wightman said a facility on the land could help the school’s capacity issue.
“So Interchange presents an interesting opportunity for us,” Wightman said. “Not only in the enhancement of our truck driving program, but as a spot to expand the campus itself, that spot presents enough space for us to have a satellite campus and the truck driving program both.”
Wightman said TCAT Crossville has a some 300 students capacity. Wightman said on any given day, up to 400 students are on the campus. Wightman said the lot could be used to house a 5,000 square foot building featuring several classrooms and roughly 70 student parking spaces.
“There’s always a lot of money for program expansion, but there is never money for land acquisition,” Wightman said. “Mayor (James) Mayberry and I had several conversations about Interchange over the years and us purchasing that. It’s not financially viable for us to purchase it with local funds.”
Wightman said he sees the project as a benefit to the city and TCAT. Wightman said it would help recruit an industry to a site ready building pad on Interchange Drive.
“What better way would it be to market that entire industrial site than having a TCAT on that site,” Wightman said.
TCAT has used the Interchange property for 11 years through an agreement with the city.
