A local firm with strong ties to the Morgantown community will build WVU ’s new alumni center. The WVU Alumni Association announced that March-Westin has been selected as the contractor for the new 48,000 square-foot facility which will be built on WVU ’s Evansdale Campus.
“We are pleased that March-Westin will be overseeing our’gateway’facility which will serve the University community,”said Stephen L. Douglas, president and chief executive officer, WVU Alumni Association.”March-Westin is a well-known and respected company with extensive background in project oversight at various educational institutions. Their selection as contractor takes us one step closer to making our new alumni center a reality.”
March-Westin was selected from a field of four contractors who submitted bids and then participated in an interview process for the project. The firm excelled in all aspects of the criteria used to select the contractor, including project management/superintendent experience, guaranteed maximum price, process experience, budget/value engineering, past performance (including experience in working with similar projects), work performance, construction schedule and fee/general conditions.
This is an important project for WVU and the local community,said Phillip Weser, president and CEO , March-Westin.The new WVU alumni center has a unique look and personality, and it is our job to provide thoughtful attention to detail to make this a true campus home for WVU alumni. We look forward to working with the architects and the Alumni Association to bring this beautiful building to the Evansdale Campus.
Incorporated in 1984, March-Westin is a full-service engineering, general contracting and design-build firm which handles projects ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than $100 million. Headquartered in Morgantown, the firm has worked with WVU on numerous projects including the renovations at Brooks Hall, WVU Coliseum and Creative Arts Center, as well as the Wise Library addition, One Waterfront and stadium suites at the north end zone of Milan Puskar Stadium. Other clients include: Mylan Pharmaceuticals, G.E. Specialty Chemicals, Wheeling Charleston Diocese, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Energy and Dow Chemical Company.
Site preparation for the new alumni center is expected to begin later this year with the official groundbreaking taking place in late spring 2007. The new center will more than triple the size of the current facility enabling the WVU Alumni Association to further expand its programs and services for its growing alumni base, as well as the University community.
The WVU Alumni Association, chartered in 1873, represents more than 170,000 University graduates residing in every county in West Virginia, every state in the union and approximately 60 foreign nations. With nearly 100 registered chapters and constituent groups, the Association’s 26,000 dues-paying members support Homecoming Weekend, the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni, Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, Student Alumni Association, and dozens of other social and philanthropic programs. For more information about the WVU Alumni Association, visithttp://alumni.wvu.edu/.