For 13 years, Brad Scott has scrambled to find places where his Scott Community College culinary arts students could go for classroom training.

Despite having an associate degree program since 1991, the college has not had its own teaching labs. Instead, it has relied on the generosity of area restaurants and other establishments where students went to study under various chefs and to use those businesses’ kitchen equipment.

But Scott’s scrambling days are coming to an end.

Construction began earlier this month on a $2.3 million, 10,000-square-foot, on-campus Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Center that is expected to be finished by July 1.

“I’ll finally have a home,” said Scott, who serves as chairman of the culinary arts and hospitality management program as well as being a culinary arts instructor. He joined the college in 1996.

“I never thought it would come to this — it’s such a dream. To see them digging the footings ... a big smile comes over my face.”

For about six years, Scott and the college searched for existing buildings to house its program, including the former Eagle Foods and Bettendorf Office Supply stores in Bettendorf as well as several buildings in downtown Davenport.

“We finally decided paying square-footage rent and putting money in a building we don’t own is crazy,” Scott said.

The new building on the Bettendorf campus will house three culinary labs, including a bakery, a “hot” area for stoves and broilers, and an instructional studio with cameras and flat-screen TVs that also will be used for the college’s nighttime continuing education classes.

In addition to consolidating lab space, the new building will allow programs to grow, Scott said.

Culinary arts has 81 students, but he is hoping to double that number in the next three to five years.

He also might be able to offer a new restaurant management degree program and a pastry certificate program.

“We hope to put culinary arts and Scott Community College on the map,” he added.

In addition to culinary arts, the new building will house the hospitality management degree program, currently in its second year with 11 students, and a new events management certificate program.

The building does not replace the apprenticeship/on-the-job training aspect of the programs; that will continue at some 65 sponsoring houses within a 90-mile radius of the Quad-Cities, Scott said.

The building was designed by Downing Architects of Bettendorf and will be built by Swanson Construction, also of Bettendorf.

Also under construction on the Scott campus are additions to the science building ($4.5 million) and the applied technology building ($2.5 million).

Money for all of the projects is coming from a $33 million bond referendum passed by Eastern Iowa Community College District voters in 2007. Additionally, the culinary arts building is getting money from a grant from the State of Iowa’s Accelerated Career Education, or ACE, program and college discretionary funds.