Construction on the new Advanced Technology Center in Gulf Coast State College is well underway.

Bay County commissioners took a tour of the state of the art facility on Tuesday.

The $35 million dollar project will offer a unique place for students to build high tech skills.
The building is 82,000 square feet.

Programs being planned for the new facility include everything from cyber forensics to renewable energy research.

Local officials believe the center can give the area an advantage in offering world class technology education.

"Having this educational facility here, it's truly state of the art. One of the guides on the tour said you expect to see something like this in Chicago or New York. Well, it's Panama City. This is truly something to be proud of," said Bay County Commissioner Guy Tunnell.

"We've been building programs for the last five or six years. We'll continue to build programs. We'll take programs down if they're not needed anymore, but this is a key tool. This is a game changer, I think, for bringing in new industry," said Dr. Jim Kerley from the college.

Construction on the facility is set to be finished by June.
Classes will start in the building in the fall semester.