MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The final construction beam is in place for the new WVU Eye Institute, expected to open in 2027.
A ceremony was held Monday.
The institute will expand its clinical, educational and research efforts with construction of the new building under construction at the intersection of Van Voorhis Road and Elmer Prince Drive in Morgantown.
The WVU Health System Board of Directors approved $233.5 million in funding to construct the new 150,000-square-foot building that will include a multi-level parking garage with more than 1,100 spaces.
WVU Medicine President and CEO Albert Wright said the facility will expand clinical, research, and teaching capabilities.
“When you pull into Elmer Prince Drive, we’ve always had the iconic Erickson Alumni Center on one side, and this building, I think, is going to be an appropriate entrance to this side of the WVU Health Sciences Campus.”
WVU Eye Institute Executive Chairman Dr. Thomas Mauger said each specialty within the institute was able to design each space to fit their unique needs.
“We have cornea specialists—that’s my area; we have retina specialists, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology, and others,” Mauger said. “So, each section got to design the space for themselves.”
The new building will increase the number of exam rooms from 60 to 102 and expand testing from 13 testing rooms to 44 testing rooms. The new facility will also include surgical suites that will better serve patients and doctors.
“This building does that, and I think it’s a symbol of our commitment to taking great care of patients and recruiting the best and brightest faculty and caregivers,” Wright said.
The existing WVU Eye Institute at 1 Medical Center Drive will be torn down when the new one opens and the property will be dedicated to addressing the process of earning a National Cancer Institute designation,” Wright said.
“Which is a three-story building today right next to the Physician’s Office Center,” Wright said. “Our goal is to add another hospital tower that would be cancer in nature.”
Setting the final beam and watching the structure rise above the ground provides excitement for the current staff, who Mauger said is running out of space.
“It will be really exciting when we get into the building and start to use it,” Mauger said. “We’re crammed into our current space, which is a great eye institute, but we are completely out of space.”