CHESTER – Conversion of a former school building in Chester into a high-tech job training center should get underway next year.

Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said design work should get underway later this year.

“We hired one of the best architects and engineering firms in the country that specializes in refabricating schools and modernizing them into an educational facility of tomorrow,” he said.

Neuhaus envisions attracting hi-tech companies, training their employees and setting up R&D and manufacturing facilities at the facility.