MOORHEAD — It has been just over a year since the doors closed at the Moorhead Sam's Club , and the vacant big-box store may soon have a new purpose and mission: training students for careers.

At its meeting Monday, April 8, the Moorhead School Board unanimously approved the purchase of the property, 2800 27th Ave. S., and plans to turn the site into a career and technical academy.

There is no shortage of students in carpentry, welding, mechanics and trade classes at Moorhead High School, according to the district, and the $4.2 million property could help meet their needs.

"This facility is a dream," Moorhead Schools Superintendent Brandon Lunak said of the 137,000-square-foot building that would house the proposed career center. "This is to offer high-interest careers; high-demand, high-wage type jobs . . . to get our kids the exposure to those types of programs so they can enter the world of work or enter higher education."

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The idea of a career and technical academy emerged when a community-led group studied a set of renovation options for Moorhead High School. The school board in February unanimously approved a plan to renovate the existing high school and construct a new career center.

One Moorhead High School teacher says the proposed center, which will cost an expected $13 million, will help meet a desperate need for skilled workers.

"There is a huge shortage of skilled workers and if you talk to anyone in the trades — carpentry, construction, diesel, (agriculture), aviation — they are all just dying for employees right now," said Jeff Schneider, an industrial technology teacher.

The former Sam's Club location offers a parking lot, garage doors and a wide-open building that Lunak says will provide ample space for new programs.

"They talk about big box retail. If you want to go in and remodel a site, this is what you want because it is just a big box," the superintendent said.

Possible options for students could include culinary arts, auto repair, 3D printing, carpentry and training in STEM fields — where employers need to fill open spots, district officials say.

School district officials say with a new underpass being built near the high school and the Minnesota State and Community Technical College nearby, the Sam's Club location is perfect.