The spring rain let up yesterday as Shepherd University held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new dining and multipurpose facility on West Campus, near the intramural fields.
The facility will house a 300 seat student dining facility along with state-of-the-art weight training facilities, locker rooms, and staff offices for several of the University’s athletic teams.
Shepherd University President Mary J.C. Hendrix opened the ceremony, sharing that the “new facility is the next step in bringing our strategic plan for the future of Shepherd University to fruition, and it has taken the collaboration of our dedicated staff, our community and business partners, and our state and national representatives to reach this milestone.”
According to Eric Lewis, former chair of the University’s Board of Governors and currently chair of the West Campus Enhancement Committee, the project team hit the ground running in January of this year, only a couple of months after funding was secured from the state government.
Lewis says the committee is working with the architect and general contractor under a design-build process and he expects the building to be open by June 2026. Lewis also shared that the total project budget is $22 million and is one of the largest design-build projects undertaken in West Virginia.
