MORGANTOWN — “This building is going to help Monongalia County … tell the new story of agriculture in West Virginia.”
West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt offered the above comments Monday morning during a brief groundbreaking ceremony for the Monongalia County Extension Service and 4-H Center.
The building will sit at the former location of the fair pavilion, in Mylan Park. The pavilion has been moved to the other side of the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center parking lot from its old location.
The $3.5 million project will result in about 40,000 square feet under roof and another 15,000 square feet of outdoor livestock area, as well as high tunnel greenhouses.
The building will be owned by the Mylan Park Foundation and leased to the county through a lease purchase agreement at a rate of $18,916.90 monthly.
The county will own the building at the end of the lease-purchase agreement.
Commission President Tom Bloom said the county already contributes about $70,000 annually to the extension office’s rent in Westover’s WesMon Plaza.
He said the county will pay about twice that amount annually on the new building, much of which will be offset through rent payments — along with WVU Monongalia County Extension Services, Leonhardt’s office has already committed to office space.
“This is going to become a hub for our operations,” Leonhardt said.
Bloom said there are still openings in the building for additional tenants.
Ron Justice, president of the Mylan Park Foundation, said the office portion of the building is expected to be completed by year’s end, weather permitting. The outdoor facilities should be complete by this time next year.
“This building has actually been a dream and a vision for a number of people for years, and it’s going to bring a product to the county that we do not have,” Justice said. “I can’t thank all of our partners enough.”
WVU Extension Services Dean and Director Steve Bonanno said Monongalia County has one of the strongest extension programs in the state, noting the dramatic upgrade in facilities will further that distinction.
Commissioner Ed Hawkins pushed for the original pavilion while spearheading the Monongalia County Fair, prior to joining the commission. He noted what a departure the new facility will be from the tents the fair’s first animal shows were held in.
“I was raised up in 4-H and extension,” Hawkins said, explaining that extension services was created in 1914 to refute the belief that young people needed to head off the farm and into the city to forge a successful life.
“The responsibility of extension is education,” Hawkins said. “I’m happy to say this is going to put a face on that education.”
Paradigm Architects and Lytle Construction have been contracted for the project.
