TEEX-CS 890503 IC Coppell Gazette. 11t'tlncsdav, :Alat■ 1080
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Sal Sessa/Staff photo
Above, Stan Bugala, Lions Club president, left, presents Mayor
Lou Duggan with a $1,000 check to start the fundraising ball j
rolling for the $1.9-million Texas A&M training facility building.
Right is an artist's rendering shows the building as it will look
when construction is completed in two years.The facility will be
located off Denton Tap and Bethel Roads.
µ C it y collects $18, 000$
f or planned A&M site
By LEONA ALLEN The value of just the 10-acre
Staff Writer A&M portion of the 115-acre project
is estimated at $5 million to $6 mil-
The city of Coppell has its fund- lion before university officials
raising campaign well underway to occupy the building.The value of the i
pay for the $1.9-million building for land alone on the 90 acres is esti-
the Texas A&M Regional Training mated at$3-$a square foot,or$11.8
Facility. million-$15.7 million.
Mayor Lou Duggan said $18,000 That leaves $1.9 million for the
• has already been raised toward the first building on the site, which will
30,000-square-foot building and he have to be raised through private
- thinks fund-raising efforts will only donations. Duggan anticipates that
• increase during the next few weeks. the Economic Development Board,
"The Lions Club was the first to The Coppell 2000 Education Com-
• donate$1,000 to the fund,"Duggan mittee and the Steering Committee
said. "The steering committee, will all have a role in raising the
which is made up of very prominent funds. The civic organizations are
Texans, will be meeting again in the asked to raise the seed money for
next few weeks and I expect that fund-raising efforts.
group to take off very fast. There Along with the $1,000 from the
f. are no negatives in this deal and I Lions Club, $5,000 is being donated
• think everyone is excited and ready by the Coppell Business Associa-
to get the ball rolling," he said. tion, $1000 from Dr. Bill Stearman
The Texas Engineering Exten- and$1,000 from Royce Lively. "We
:-sion Service, TEEX, has provided also received a$10,000 anonymous
vocational and technical training donation from a citizen who got in-
throughout the state since 1948. terested in the project from reading
The agency's 13 training divisions the story in the Gazette, Duggan
conducts more than 3,000 classes said.
for about 70,000 students each year. "Construction will start as soon as
11Ql1WW f^^:1: WP have thernonQyjp hand," Dug-
ties in San Antonio,Abilene, Corpus gan said. "We anticipate starting the
Christi, Houston, Galveston and fund-raising activities immediately
Arlington. The Arlington location and hope to have the facility open-
will be moved to the new facility in ational within two years. After that
Coppell when construction is com- time, the future for the university'
plete. presence here will be whatever the
The Baptist Foundation of Texas educational needs dictate,"he said
has donated 10 acres of land with All donations to the fund are tax
boundaries on the west side of De- deductible. Anyone wanting to con-
nton Tap and the north side of the tribute should make their checks
Cottonbelt Railroad. The developer payable to North Texas Regional
will pay the estimated $500,000 to Training Center Foundation ib cut's
build to access roads and will be paid of Lou Duggan. Contributions may
back through an abatement program be mailed to F.O. Box 901 G htDe1
until it recoups its costs. Texas, 75019.