Newly Renovated Conference Center and Mosaic Plan

Metro Tech Opens Newly Renovated Conference Center and Announced Mosaic Plan for Northeast OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY – Metro Technology Centers’ Springlake Campus has finished initial renovation for its conference center and held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday afternoon. Oklahoma City community members and elected officials toured the facility and Metro Tech also announced a new mosaic project that will be displayed in the facility titled “The East Side Experience.”

Metro Tech Superintendent Aaron Collins, Oklahoma City Councilwoman Nikki Nice of Ward 7, Millwood Public Schools Superintendent Cecilia Robinson-Woods, and Metro Tech board member, Dr. Linda Toure of the Northeast District welcomed and thanked the attendees for their support and investment in Northeast Oklahoma City development. After the ribbon cutting ceremony with board members and Superintendent Collins, patrons were free to tour the facility with Metro Tech officials.

The conference center renovations were funded through the 2019 Community Bond Initiative and more than 10 million dollars of the bond has been used in the remodeling and additions of the building located at the Springlake Campus. Collins said Metro Tech will utilize the facility to serve the same community that supported the project through their vote.

“Above all, we want to thank the community members,” Collins said. “With their support and vote, we have been able to renovate our conference center and fund several new additions and updates to other Metro Tech locations. Our community’s belief in Metro Tech has allowed us to improve, not only on quality career training but also build the infrastructure necessary to house and expand those programs.”

In partnership with Smith and Pickel Construction and Renaissance Architecture, the 75,575 sq. ft. conference center includes a 283-seat auditorium and banquet hall that holds up to 350 seated attendees. It also includes 6 meeting rooms for training or breakout sessions and all rooms include audio, video, and video-conferencing capabilities.

Renaissance Architecture Senior Project Architect and Designer, Bernie Colbert, said the project was intimidating at first but now that they’ve finalized plans, they’re happy to play a part in the growth of the educational institution. “Metro Tech deserves this,” Colbert said. “It’s great to know that they are satisfied with the new renovations because it’s been a long time in the making.” 

With new spaces and accommodating features, the Business Conference Center will serve a variety of Oklahoma City organizations thanks to the centralized location of the facility. In addition, Metro Tech will add a new mosaic art piece on the east wall of the banquet hall.

The Eastside Experience” Mosaic will incorporate artifacts donated by community members and will be installed into the mosaic by incapsulating materials into resin and piecing them together. A request for proposal will be released shortly to hire an artist to spearhead the project.

Councilwoman Nice spoke to the open house attendees on the importance of community collaboration towards the mosaic, stating their help will ensure that the mosaic properly depicts the history of the community.

“Many of us in this room grew up on the east side and we are very proud of that history,” Nice said. “The generations who came before us were strong leaders who were instrumental in building the community. I know each one of us has our own special memories of the east side. We all have different spaces, neighborhood streets, churches, favorite restaurants and schools, that to this day, we express pride in and remember so fondly. So, we need your help in bringing those memories, people and places together to create this art piece.”

Metro Technology Centers is now accepting artifact donations such as photographs, yearbooks, fabrics, newspaper articles and other materials for the Mosaic. Please visit the Metro Tech website for additional details.

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