Heart of Oregon Corps announced Feb. 26 that it has purchased land for a regional youth workforce development campus in Redmond.

The land is located off Highway 126 about a mile east of downtown and U.S. Highway 97. At a celebration event Wednesday, the corps also launched a capital campaign that’s goal is to raise roughly $2.5 million to build the facility.

Each year, the corps works with about 225 young people ages 16-24.

The goal is to get them job training, support to earn a high school diploma or GED, and launch careers with real experience in both hard and soft skills.

According to the organization, a central campus is needed to support youth workforce development training in construction, land conservation and childcare.

“Central Oregon needs this campus,” said Zavi Borja, a Heart of Oregon Corps alum and regional community leader, on Wednesday. “HOC grads are our local pipeline of workers ready to solve the region’s greatest challenges including housing affordability, wildfire fuels reductions and the childcare shortage.”

At the press conference, Heart of Oregon Corps executive director Laura Handy emphasized how essential the new campus is to keeping up with growth and demand for services.

“This campus is where underserved youth and young adults will transform their lives through training, certifications and direct support,” said Handy. “

After 25 years, we know this model works — for youth, for employers and for progress on regional issues. We just need the room to accommodate the growth in demand for our programs, and this campus is the visionary answer that will support this work for generations to come.”

The new campus is estimated to cost $7.3 million, and will feature several buildings where youth will receive specialized training in their field of study, as well as support services.

The campus will include classrooms, offices and meeting spaces, a 14,000-square-foot training warehouse, and six equipment bays spread over 10,000-square-feet that will provide space for special projects and house equipment.

“We’re thrilled that this campus will be sited in Redmond,” said Redmond mayor Ed Fitch. “Our community members believe in the value of hard work and we know how critical youth workforce development is to building a strong economy where everyone can thrive.”

The organization still needs to raise about $2.5 million in order to build the campus. To help do so, it launched Legacy 25, a capital campaign that aims to raise the remaining dollars in HOC’s 25th anniversary year. Handy said a $500,000 matching grant from Central Oregon-based foundation Maybelle Clark Macdonald has been secured, which will be applied to all donations under $100,000.

Community members can donate at www.heartoforegon.org/campus-campaign.