West Virginia State Breaks Ground on New Residence Hall

by Katie Sloan

Institute, W.V. — Scholars Hall will be the first new housing built on campus in more than 40 years.

Groundbreaking ceremony at WVSU.Institute, W.V.  — West Virginia State University (WVSU) has begun construction of a 291-bed $20 million on-campus residence hall. Ambling University Development Group is the developer, which was awarded the project through a national bid process along with its partner firms: Choate Construction, Pray Construction and architecture firms Niles Bolton Associates and Silling Associates. Financing for the project was provided using tax-exempt bonds and was coordinated by RBC Capital Markets.

The building, which is named the Judge Damon J. Keith Scholars Hall, is the first residence hall to be constructed on the WVSU campus since 1969. The hall will be four stories tall and will sit on the main lawn of campus and provide a pass-through to connect the student union and campus quad. It will feature multiple suite-style living options, in addition to a 150-seat multi-purpose room, a café and gaming lounge. It will open in fall 2014.

WVSU alumni, Damon J. Keith, for whom the new residence hall is named, has served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit since 1977. He is well-known for ordering the government to produce the wire tap transcripts from the Watergate scandal. He is a 1943 graduate of West Virginia State University.

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