Dedication Set for Oct. 13 for Renovated Carver Facility at WWU

Western Washington University will host a dedication, ribbon-cutting and tours of its renovated Carver facility on Friday, Oct. 13

The dedication and ribbon-cutting will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 13 on the north side of Carver, in the new plaza area behind Bond Hall. The rain location will be Gym D in Carver.

The public is invited. People are encouraged to sign up online if they plan to attend, in order to better gauge the right amount of light refreshments.  Guests who sign up online will receive parking information shortly before the event.

The Washington State Legislature, as part of the 2015-2017 state capital budget, approved the majority of funding for the project. Construction started in August 2015 and was completed August 2017.

The Carver renovation project included 80,918 square feet of renovation, 25,019 square feet of replacement, and 57,885 square feet of new addition for a total building area of 163,822 square feet. The new addition space is largely classrooms and labs.

The project addresses urgently needed seismic reinforcement and hazardous material removal throughout the facility, replaces numerous aging and out-of-date building systems such as fire alarms and security systems, and provides improved Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access to classrooms, labs and offices throughout the building.

The renovation provides classrooms, computer labs, movement labs, instructional space, offices, support facilities and gymnasiums for Health and Human Development, Campus Recreation, and Athletics.  It also provides additional general university classrooms. Health and Human Development (formerly named Physical Education, Health and Recreation) offers degree programs for students interested in professions related to kinesiology, P-12 physical education and health, community health education, and recreation, areas of increasing need for the state. Health and Human Development is also is the largest and fastest-growing academic department at Western.

The Carver Academic Renovation and Addition project received approximately $77.4 million in state funds (including $6 million in proceeds from a State Certificate of Participation sale). The project is receiving approximately $4 million in institutional funds from the university to finish construction. The total project budget is approximately $81.5 million.