Blackhawk Breaks Ground on New Public Safety Education Center

Pictured, left to right: Renea Ranguette, Blackhawk’s Vice President of Finance and College Operations; Rob Balsamo, Blackhawk’s Fire and Emergency Services Program Coordinator; Lisa Hurda, Blackhawk’s Director of Advancement & Foundation; Troy Egger, Blackhawk’s Law Enforcement Program Coordinator; Tracy Pierner, President of Blackhawk; Mark Holzman, Janesville School District Superintendent and Blackhawk District Board Member; George Cullen, Co-President of JP Cullen; Rachel Andres, Senior Vice President of Corporate Services at Prent and Blackhawk District Board Member; Bradley Werginz, Principal Architect at Angus-Young.

Blackhawk Technical College celebrated the start of construction on a new Public Safety Education Center with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday at its Central Campus.

The new building will be located next to the Center for Transportation Studies and house classrooms for Blackhawk’s emergency services, fire and police programs as well as a track, gym and fitness center. This is the final project within the Public Safety + Transportation Complex project, which voters paved the way for in Nov. 2020 with the passing of a $32 million referendum.

“As you might imagine, this building will become a cornerstone of our growing campus and reflects a changing college. We are excited about the future and how this facility will position the college to be a better resource for our community,” Dr. Tracy Pierner, President of Blackhawk, said. “But facilities alone don’t make for great programs – it takes great instructors, students, staff, committed industry partners and community members who believe in what we do.”

About 60 public officials, industry partners, police and fire department leaders and Blackhawk staff attended the groundbreaking ceremony. JP Cullen is the construction contractor for the new building with Angus-Young as the architectural firm.

George Cullen, Co-President of JP Cullen, Bradley Werginz, Principal Architect at Angus-Young, and Lisa Hurda, BTC Director of Advancement & Foundation, also spoke at the ceremony.

Completion of the Public Safety Education Center is expected in late spring 2024.

Read more about the Public Safety + Transportation Complex