When Wingate University located a campus in downtown Hendersonville in 2011, Henderson County recognized the potential for something great, a “game changer” for the citizens of the county.
As Wingate continued to add additional programs, and their student body steadily increased, Wingate President, Jerry McGee, began to express interest in obtaining a larger facility. In recognizing the educational opportunities Wingate provides for the citizens of Henderson County, as well as the economic benefits of having a four-year university in our community, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners made locating a more permanent site for Wingate a top priority and directed County Manager, Steve Wyatt, to develop a plan to ensure Wingate’s long-term presence in the community.
When Wingate University located a campus in downtown Hendersonville in 2011, Henderson County recognized the potential for something great, a “game changer” for the citizens of the county. As Wingate continued to add additional programs, and their student body steadily increased, Wingate President, Jerry McGee, began to express interest in obtaining a larger facility. In recognizing the educational opportunities Wingate provides for the citizens of Henderson County, as well as the economic benefits of having a four-year university in our community, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners made locating a more permanent site for Wingate a top priority and directed County Manager, Steve Wyatt, to develop a plan to ensure Wingate’s long-term presence in the community.
When word of the potential partnership reached City Manager, John Connet, he contacted Wyatt and asked is there was room for a fourth partner in the City of Hendersonville. Their desire to partner came with their wish to keep Wingate’s campus within Hendersonville city limits. Wyatt told him if the city provided a site suitable to those involved, he would be happy to recommend them as a fourth partner. Connet approached the Hendersonville City Council and quickly expressed to Wyatt the interest in making this partnership work.
As plans started to come to fruition, determining a feasible location for an education building was the next task. Knowing that the Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital would play a critical role, Steve Wyatt and Pardee CEO, Jay Kirby, a huge advocate of the concept, drove around to determine prospective project sites. Several sites in the vicinity of Pardee were identified, but in the end one location stood out among the rest. The site was 747 6th Avenue West, located on the Northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and North Oak Street. The property was shown to Dr. McGee who found the site both “extremely suitable and a unique opportunity to locate on a hospital campus.” Wyatt then bounced the concept off Dr. Parkhill who was very intrigued by the idea and the unique advantages that location would bring to the project.
Based on the input from Dr. McGee and Dr. Parkhill, Wyatt contacted Connet and revealed that a suitable piece of property had been located. The City then worked to secure an option on the property, while Wyatt worked with the Board of Commissioners individually to sign off on a five-way partnership between Henderson County, the City of Hendersonville, Wingate University, Blue Ridge Community College, and Pardee Hospital. The Board instructed Wyatt to work with the four partners and draft an agreement.
Over the course of the past few months, under the auspices of the governing boards, negotiations have been taking place among the five partners at the highest management levels, time being of the essence for this project. The facility needs to be up and running by January of 2016.
Steve Wyatt states, “It is the intent from here to go forward within the framework of the agreement. An endeavor like this has never, to my knowledge, been done before. It has been a very difficult negotiation, but if it was easy someone would have already done it. Upon completion this project will give our community an asset that will pay dividends for generations to come.”
Clark Nexsen, an architectural firm out of Asheville, has been secured and is completing preliminary work on the site plans. The educational facility will be approximately 60,000 square feet, with a total cost of $16-17M.