Aims Community College is strengthening workforce development, entrepreneurship and education with the Aims Workforce Innovation Center (AWIC), a state-of-the-art facility scheduled to open in late fall 2026.
Innovation in the Making: Aims Celebrates Progress on New Workforce Hub
March 23, 2026
Aims Board of Trustees and Dr. B at the Aims AWIC beam signing event. Pictured left to right: Jeannine Truswell, Marilyn Schock, Rhonda Solis, Marcy Mieczkowski, Heidi Windell and Dr. Leah L. Bornstein, Aims Community College CEO and President.
On March 23, Aims Community College held a beam-signing ceremony to mark a milestone in the construction. Attendees signed the last wooden and metal structural beams on the project and watched them being hoisted into place. Aims leadership, representatives from Alquist 3D, OZ Architecture, and Roche Constructors also spoke at the event.
“A beam signing ceremony may be a construction tradition, but it also represents something meaningful,” said Dr. Leah L. Bornstein, Aims Community College CEO and President. “Each signature placed on the beam we sign today is a symbol of partnership, of people who believe in education, innovation and the power of opportunity.”
The Aims Workforce Innovation Center
Located on the northeast end of Aims Greeley Campus, the AWIC is designed to fuel innovation and connect industry with education. It’s a place to inspire and ignite new opportunities for learners, employers and the broader community.
The AWIC features Weld County’s first innovation incubator, providing startup and expanding businesses with access to high-tech work bays, collaborative spaces and a supportive professional network. In January, Aims announced Alquist 3D as the facility’s first industry tenant. Other emerging ventures can apply to set up research and development operations at the AWIC.
The facility will also serve as a hub for immersive, hands-on learning, offering Aims faculty, staff, students and community members opportunities to engage with emerging technologies, including virtual and augmented reality. Dedicated think tank and pitch spaces will further support collaboration, innovation and idea development.
“The AWIC represents the type of forward-thinking investment that we are uniquely positioned to make,” said Marilyn Schock, Chair of the Aims Board of Trustees. “We are lucky as an institution to have the resources and the great minds needed to make this a reality.”
Construction Update
Construction on the AWIC has been in progress since last March. The building will use a geothermal mechanical system powered by vertical wells reaching 500 feet in depth to provide efficient heating and cooling. The construction and design use cross-laminated timber to reduce the overall carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.
In addition, Aims is prioritizing U.S.-sourced materials to support domestic manufacturing and regional economies. Key components include cross-laminated timber from Alabama, electrical systems from Texas, geothermal drilling operations based in Greeley and steel fabricated in Grand Junction
Learn more about the facility at aims.co/AWIC.
