BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WOAY) – Gov. Jim Justice secured $1 million in funding to go toward substantial improvements to campus life for Bluefield State College students.
“This will make this institution grow,” said Justice. “You’ve waited too long, that’s all there is to it.”
Justice made the announcement during a groundbreaking ceremony today, celebrating the start of a new housing facility.
Of that funding, $500,000 will help the college build the new student housing complex named Heritage Village. The other half of the money will be used for the college’s student union.
Heritage Village will be BSC’s first on-campus student housing facility since 1968. That year, a bombing resulted in the college closing it’s dorms. The closure eventually became permanent, leading the the college becoming a commuter school.
The new housing facility will have a community focused style, with living areas made of four pods and shared studies and lounges. Once built, Heritage Village will fit 120-140 students, boosting enrollment by 10 percent. College leaders say their goal is for the complex to be ready for move in by 2020.
