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WVU BOG approves three construction projects for $176 million

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a special meeting Wednesday morning, the West Virginia University Board of Governors approved three major projects.

Phase III & IV renovation of the Milan Puskar Center at a cost of $41 million, Hodges Hall renovation for $35 million and the construction of the new Reynolds Hall, at the site of Stansbury Hall for $100 million.

Shane Lyons

The Milan Puskar Center, home of the WVU football team, will have renovations that include expanding the home team locker room, player lounge, equipment room and recovery suite. The project will also expand the Hall of Traditions and open it to the public year round, moving it to the front of the building. The coaches offices will be switched to the stadium end of the 38-year-old building.

WVU Athletic Director Shane Lyons told the board the areas targeted haven’t been upgraded for about 10 years. He said they need to keep pace with other Big 12 athletic programs.

“We are putting ourselves in a position in an athletic department to have continued success and I firmly believe part of that continued success is having facilities that we can recruit student athletes to,” Lyons said.

The renovation of the 94,000 square foot Hodges Hall on the downtown campus in Morgantown will include contemporary classrooms, computer classrooms, seminar and meeting rooms, updated office spaces and improved technology. The project includes a 210-seat testing center and will be the exclusive testing location for the university. The renovation includes 24 classrooms totaling 954 seats.

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will occupy the upper floors of Hodges Hall including Women and Gender Studies, Native American Studies and World Languages and Literature.

“Create new instructional space, new classroom space that is modern. very relavent to the way students learn today and is highly flexible,” WVU Provost Maryanne Reed said.

Hodges Hall hasn’t seen any major work since it opened in 1954, WVU officials said.

The $100 million Reynolds Hall project, at the site of Stansbury Hall, is scheduled to begin this fall and be complete by April 2022. The project has been designed upgrade a section of the Morgantown waterfront.

Reynolds Hall will be the new 177,000 square foot home for the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. The building will include state-of-the-art learning spaces, Project Based Learning spaces, social areas and a recreational component, according to Dean Javier Reyes.

“It’s going to change the landscape of what it looks like, it’s going change the skyline that you have at the waterfront, but it will also bring much more life to the waterfront,” Reyes said.

The projects will financed with $100 million in new debt, the balance is expected to financed through donations over the next three to five years.

The breakdown of the projects include:

· $100 million for construction of Reynolds Hall

· $35 million for renovation of Hodges Hall classroom building

· $41 million for the next two phases of upgrades to Milan Puskar Center.

 





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