Northwest College has been running classes in the Powell armory building for about a month now and, CTD administrator Christi Greaham said, they're already using just about all of the 13,729 square feet of available space.

"We've already filled up almost all of it already," she said, adding that one of the best features is simply being able to fit all of the Career and Technical Training spaces in one place.

The CDL program is one of the biggest for her department, and prior to filling in the armory space she said the simulator trailer doubled as the CDL instructors' office, which was an issue if the trailer was at a remote site.

Now the armory's gym can house a school bus and two semis that previously were being stored at the Park County Fairgrounds along with the CDL trailer.

And, with a change in federal regulations for CDL tests, Greaham said they'll no longer need to use the extra space at the fairgrounds at all, as the trucks can be driven in the area next to the building.

In early February, Greaham gave NWC trustees and administrators a tour of the building. President Lisa Watson said they are planning an open house in the next few months to let people in, but NWC students in CTD are already getting a good taste of what the building has to offer — Greaham said there are six PHS students using both the large equipment and forklift simulators, purchased in part with funds from a grant and support from the Powell and Lovell BOCES. Lovell High School completed a pilot program last semester to send seniors to the college to get their CDLs and small wheel motor certifications.

The building is being leased from the Wyoming Military Department as part of a five-year agreement to share office space and classrooms. While the college will use all of the armory building, National Guard personnel are able to use office space in other college buildings. The department also completed a big renovation of the building just prior to handing it over, including new heating, removing asbestos and more.

One large room that used to be unheated now not only has heat, but space for the new simulators, a setup for electrical classes, construction and other trades.

The building also has an industrial kitchen Greaham said will soon get more use, space for DELTA classes (including climbing wall storage) and three classrooms including a computer lab.

And Greaham’s not done. With a new grant recently received, CTD is planning to gather the equipment needed for heavy construction training.

In her view, the new space just allows for more of an impact in the local community, one that provides future benefits even for a high school student who gets his CDL at NWC and then goes on to something else.

“Maybe they go work for the oilfield or whatever, but then they get to be 29-30 years old and decide that's not what I want to do. Where are they going to come? They’ll come back here because it's such a great experience getting their CDL or whatever certification it was, or get their kid or their neighbor's kid to come here because they had such a great experience, whether it was getting their CDL or associate's degree or bachelor's. So I really enjoy the positive experience we do.”