Hobbs Architects present updates on CCCC’s E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center

Central Carolina Community College’s (CCCC) Building and Grounds Committee discussed plans for the E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center (EMBC) Nov. 10.

In 2021, CCCC purchased the former Magnetti-Marelli building and its 21 acres on Nash Street near the college’s Lee Main Campus for $7.4 million and named it after a former student.

Hobbs Architects said it was at the 50% design phase mark, and the college needed $2.4 million by June 2026 to begin construction, unless they could delay or cancel the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Training’s area at an expense of $1.2 million.

The sale of the Howard-James Industrial Training Center at $2.7 million will be final on Dec. 8, and the college plans to use the funds for EMBC construction costs.

The board discussed past conversations with owners of 300 x 300-foot paved areas and classroom-appropriate buildings to use instead of conducting truck-driving classes at the new EMMBC campus. Some property owners lived out of state and had no connections, and therefore, did not care about the college leasing a site for instructional purposes. Other places were too small. The board is open for conversations with property owners in and near Lee County.

The design plans must pass State Construction Offices (SCO) approval, and the CDL plans may be an alternate plan, providing a much smaller initial payment to begin in June 2026. SCO will provide approximately 50 comments on the plans within 60 days, and the designers and CCCC must address them within weeks.

Hobbs Architects expects to have construction documents for EMBC’s main building, which is Phase 1, in Jan. 2026. 

According to CCCC, before submitting construction documents to the SCO, the project must be funded sufficiently to cover 90% of the estimated probable cost for the base bid.  The College allocates funds to the project through a Form 3-1 Amendment, which requires approval by both CCCC’s Board of Trustees and the State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC). Upon approval by SBCC, the funds are assigned to the project in Interscope, the system used to manage and track capital projects with SCO oversight.  

Hobbs Architects said some project owners begin CD financing efforts, knowing they are awaiting approval from the state.

CCCC partnered with Hobbs Architect to create reasonable deadlines for creating efficient strategies for the SCO project plan, and the plan and its deadlines are subject to change.

“These are larger numbers than our college has worked with before…We’re committed to having the funds we need for June,” CCCC President Lisa Chapman said.

During the study of the basement of the former Magnetti-Marelli building conducted over concern if the cement foundation would support the future plans, they discovered chemical-smelling fumes when boring the cement.

Hobbs Architects consulted Terraquest Environmental Consultants and this article will be updated when it receives the report.

There are active North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality studies on the 21-acre tract because of the welding and industrial waste.

“The floor needs augmentation from the 12 basement columns. They’ll be treated with steel,” Taylor Hobbs III, AIA, said and added, they did not have to dig up footings, so that saved more money.

Videos from the Nov. 10 presentation show Hobbs Architects’ diligence.

Adam Fouse discusses timelines and the budget in the above images. Contruction on the EMBC is expected to begin in 2028. (There is a typo in the above slides.)

CCCC’s Board of Trustees will meet Wed., Nov. 12, at Harnett Health Sciences at 7 p.m. for the public meeting, and upon Chapman’s request, Hobbs Architects will present their progress during the board’s dinner at 6 p.m.

Nov. 11, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers

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