SOLEDAD — Hartnell College broke ground last Thursday on a new Career Technical Education (CTE) facility in Soledad, beginning construction on a two-level building that will become the dedicated home of the college’s Advanced Diesel Technology program and expand hands-on workforce training in South Monterey County.
More than 100 guests attended the ceremony at the project site at 1505 Metz Road, next to the Hartnell College Soledad Education Center. Students, faculty, staff, trustees, donors, community members and elected officials from across the Salinas Valley gathered under a phrase repeated throughout the morning: “It is happening in Soledad.”
The roughly 9,700-square-foot building is funded through Measure T, the $167 million facilities bond that district voters approved in November 2016. It will include a diesel and heavy-equipment training shop, classrooms, a mechanical lab, welding bays, instructional support space, tool and material storage, offices, lockers and restrooms, mezzanine storage, and 40 new parking stalls.
Hartnell College Superintendent/President Michael Gutierrez opened the July 16 ceremony by framing the project as a promise kept to the voters who funded it.
“Today, we deliver on a promise,” Gutierrez said. “Ten years later, we are still putting the voters’ investment to work, expanding what is possible for the students of South County. This building is designed to prepare our students to be work ready, and it offers our community something more than a facility. It brings hope.”
Gutierrez said the college is expanding not only its physical footprint but the way it delivers instruction, including credit for prior learning and competency-based education. He pointed to AgStep as a program that has become a model for that approach.
“We are building new pathways to meet the needs of both industry and community,” he said. “Not all learning happens in a classroom. Life experience matters, and it deserves to be honored in the form of college credit.”
Hartnell Community College District Board President Alejandra Gonzalez spoke to the role access plays in measuring whether the college is serving its region well.
“Access is one of the clearest markers we look to when we ask whether our programs are truly responsive to the people we serve,” Gonzalez said. “What we are doing here says to every student, every family and every community member that college is possible, and that it is available right here in their own backyard. Today, we are building toward the future.”
State Sen. John Laird, who served eight years as a community college trustee, told the crowd the project answers several regional pressures at once.
“Enrollment has declined across the state, the economy is changing constantly, and community colleges have had to become more entrepreneurial to meet it,” Laird said. “All of that comes into play here. The voters stepped up. This project addresses enrollment, it addresses job training, and it moves students toward where the economy actually is. Everything comes together in a wonderful way, and it is going to make a fundamental difference for the people of this community.”
Soledad Mayor Anna Velazquez, a Hartnell alumna, described the groundbreaking as the result of roughly a decade of coordinated work.
“Projects like this one do not happen overnight, and they do not happen in silos,” Velazquez said. “They take vision, planning, funding and a great many people working together over many years. But more than anything, they require hope. Hope for our families, hope for the future, and hope that we are preparing our students for 21st century careers. Today, we are not breaking ground on a facility. We are breaking ground on opportunity. Take a moment and picture the faces of the students who will walk through these doors, the careers they will build and the families they will support. That is what we are celebrating. It is happening in Soledad.”
Gary Tanimura, a Hartnell alumnus and former president of the Hartnell College Foundation Board, spoke on behalf of the Tanimura family, a longtime supporter of the college.
“Giving back matters to our family, and our partnership with Hartnell College is one we value deeply,” Tanimura said. “We employ a great many Hartnell students, and they are outstanding. When we invest in this college, we are investing in the people who will train the workforce of the future, and we see the benefit of that partnership every day in the employees who come to us from Hartnell.”
Expanding student access
Ana Gonzalez, dean of South County education centers and distance learning, hosted the program.
“Since it opened, the Soledad Education Center has become a home for hundreds of students working toward their degrees,” she said. “When we think about the future, we think about skill building and about lifting up our community so more people can reach careers that provide livable wages. Partnership plays a big role in that work, especially with our local K-12 programs, who help us reach students early and show them what is possible.”
Gonzalez introduced two Soledad High School dual enrollment students, Ariana Sanchez and Camila Sanchez, who described what career training close to home has meant for them. Both are entering their junior year and are taking Hartnell courses while still in high school.
Ariana Sanchez said an introductory agricultural mechanics class changed what she believed she was capable of.
“Before that class, I had never imagined myself learning skills like welding, electrical work and plumbing,” she said. “It challenged me in the best way and gave me the confidence to try things I never thought I could do. These trades are for anyone willing to work hard and step outside their comfort zone, and I am proud to be part of a program that encourages everyone to explore them. This building represents more than classrooms. It represents possibilities.”
Camila Sanchez, the youngest in her family and the first to take college courses, said the new facility removes a barrier that has kept students from training they want.
“Through my agricultural science classes, I have learned how important agriculture is to our community and how many of these careers require technical skills and hands-on training,” she said. “Students who wanted to take diesel technology or mechatronics used to travel about 30 minutes to the Alisal Campus in Salinas during the school day, and for some students that became a barrier. Having these programs in our own community means more students will have access to modern equipment and experienced instructors without having to leave town.”
Representatives from the offices of Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas presented certificates of recognition to Gutierrez and Alejandra Gonzalez ahead of the ceremonial groundbreaking.
Designed by In Studio Architecture, the facility is targeted to open in October 2027, with the first Advanced Diesel Technology and welding classes offered in spring 2028. It responds to long-standing demand for skilled diesel and heavy-equipment technicians across the Salinas Valley’s agriculture, transportation and logistics industries. Students will train on the lift systems, diagnostic tools and shop equipment used in the field, earning industry-recognized credentials that lead to well-paying jobs in the region.
Measure T has funded facilities across the district since 2016, including education centers in Soledad, Castroville and King City, and a nursing and allied health center at the main campus in Salinas. The City of Soledad contributed 3.7 acres of land for the education center, which opened in 2021.
The college plans to welcome the community back to the site for a ribbon-cutting ceremony when the building opens.
