WVU Parkersburg construction project nears completion

WVU Parkersburg $3.1 million campus construction project nears completion.
CONTACT: WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage, 304-424-8200.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Virginia University at Parkersburg is within days of completing a year-long $3.1 million campus enhancement construction project.

The result is a new campus focal point and stabilization of the college’s nearly 40-year-old classroom tower, college officials note.

The institution’s three-story north classroom tower now has a sleek modern look with a light-blue stained glass curtain wall on its exterior front façade. The new focal point complements on-going enhancements to the campus.

”We are so pleased with the results of the project. It has given the college a new aesthetic perspective,” noted WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage.

Finishing touches are being completed, including landscaping around the tower. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned.

Begun in November last year, the project centered on the campus’ three-story classroom tower which houses stairways, classrooms and lab space. The structure, built in 1968, had experienced some settling of its foundation.

The project included stabilizing the soil moisture around the tower's foundation as well as renovating the tower with a series of bracing components, noted Wayne Riley, chief procurement officer and capital projects coordinator.

Two of the braces are visible externally; a third is integrated in the new classroom tower design.

As a part of the project, there are four new faculty offices on the second floor and three new faculty offices on the third floor of the tower. An administrative meeting room is conveniently located on the main level.

In addition, the canopy that covered three-quarters of the front of the main administration building has been removed and the roadway re-configured.

“The road directly in front of the main campus building tying the two front entrances together has been redesigned,” explained Riley. “The front of the building now has a connecting sidewalk between the two entrances.”

Funding for the project was derived from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission's $161.47 million bond issue for higher education.

Jendoco Construction Corp. of Pittsburgh has served as construction manager for the project. West Virginia University representatives served as the project management team with Parkersburg campus personnel.

cd010/24/2006

For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
(304-424-8203)