TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Itawamba Community College has purchased a former furniture plant and plans to use the building for the largest expansion in school history.

ICC bought the building from Furniture Brands International, whose local subsidiary is Lane Furniture, and plans to start classes there in August. The expansion is projected to cost $1.8 million.

ICC President David Cole said this week that the school has overgrown it current facilities in Tupelo.

"It was a necessity because we have had double-digit growth almost each year for the last 10 years," he said. "We are very hard-pressed for classroom and lab and parking lot space. This expands the service of the college."

The new facility, the 250,000-square-foot Belden Center, is on 30 acres near U.S. 78 in west Tupelo. It once housed the former River Oaks furniture company.

River Oaks employed 1,600 people at plants in Belden, New Albany, Fulton, Baldwyn and Booneville before filing for bankruptcy in 1998. The Belden facility was used by Lane Furniture after that.

Officials say the Belden Center will be used for noncredit programs like adult basic education, work force investment the WIN Job Center and the Mississippi Corridor Consortium's Toyota training.

"It's an exciting time," said James Williams, vice president of Economic and Community Services for ICC.

The Belden Center will offer "one-stop shopping," Williams said. "If they need a GED, they come here. If they need a job, they go across the hall."

ICC also has a campus in Fulton. The school has amore than 4,000 students in credited programs and about 32,500 in noncredited courses.

When adult basic education classes start in the new facility on Aug. 3, "We will have more space than we've ever had," said Jan West, director of ABE and GED testing.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/

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