It was sunny skies for Lincoln Academy's groundbreaking Friday, April 11.

Sen. Susan Collins, who participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, noted the warm weather that likely spells winter's end.

“Mud is easier to shovel than the frozen tundra,” she said.

The $2.7 million Cable-Burns Applied Technology and Engineering Center project had ground broken Friday, April 11. The project will begin in earnest at a later date.

Collins said she was thrilled to be part of a central part of Lincoln Academy's future.

“From this center, Lincoln Academy will train the next wave of highly-skilled innovators and entrepreneurs,” she said.

Collins also praised the efforts to secure funding and make the center possible as the “work of many hands and many hearts.”

Principal Architect Tor Glendinning for 44 Degrees North is very familiar with the property: He's an alumnus who still lives and works in the area.

“Twenty five years ago I was designing my dream home in the drafting lab in that basement,” he said, pointing to an existing building. “Today, I'm half-a-mile down the road.”

Glendinning said he designed the structure to be compatible with changes to technology and engineering.

“The build design is flexible so that as the curriculum changes, it can be built around those lessons,” he said.