Vienna City Council advances West Virginia University at Parkersburg plan to annex land

VIENNA -- Vienna City Council met Thursday to address the acquisition of parcels from the former Ohio Valley University property.

OVU's property was purchased by West Virginia University at Parkersburg with plans to remodel the property into the Innovation and Technology Center.

The City of Vienna presented the petition for a minor boundary adjustment which entails the annexation of five parcels of land which amounts to 99 acres from this property. According to the annexation document, the 99 acres would incorporate roads, land and right of ways into the city of Vienna.

Alongside the annexation project, WVUP President Torie Jackson alongside President and CEO of Pickering Associates Ryan Taylor and Civil Engineer Tyler Eppley gave a presentation on the land swap between WVUP and the city of Vienna for the new consolidated school and the progress on the WVUP Innovation and Technology Center.

According to Taylor, the actual size of the property will be 118.65 acres.

"Our college is in an extremely good financial position right now and that's why we're in a position to be able to do a large expansion project," said Jackson. "We feel confident that once this is complete that it will be a very sustainable property."

Jackson discussed some of the different projects that WVUP and Pickering Associates are working on in order to refurbish the new center, including asbestos removal, plumbing work, electricity repairs and many other renovations.

According to Jackson, there is also a partnership with the Wood County Development Authority to bring in 25 new businesses or business expansions into the city of Vienna.

After a Wood County Board of Education and a WVUP Foundation meeting on Tuesday, WVUP decided to convey land for a new consolidated school to Vienna. The land that is being conveyed is approximately seven acres and would replace the soccer and baseball fields on the campus. This change was due to the price rising $8 million above the budget, according to Taylor. The new school location would only be available following the annexation of the parcels of land into the city of Vienna.

The resolution was passed by council unanimously. Next steps for the process are to issue a notice to the public with all the legal information and then to present it to the Wood County Commission for approval. The hearing for the approval will be on Oct. 28.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com