WVU Hospitals outlines 4-story Eye Institute, city staff briefed on property swap and access changes

WVU Hospitals project representatives told the Morgantown City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Jan. 28 that they plan to build a new four‑story Eye Institute on the hospital campus, with two clinic floors, an operating‑room level, a research and administrative floor and a parking deck intended to provide roughly 1,000 spaces.

The institute presentation said the hospital will swap a parcel with the Morgantown Building Commission and relocate an access roadway to the northside fire station to accommodate the new building and a pedestrian bridge connecting the institute to the deck. City staff told the committee the change requires approval from the holder of the series 2013 Building Commission lease revenue bonds and council’s sign‑off; a draft ordinance and exhibits to authorize the MOU and related property transfers will be submitted to council agendas for readings in February.

WVU Hospitals project representatives described the building program as two floors of clinics, a third floor with operating rooms to support the eye program, and a fourth floor devoted to research and administrative offices. The plan includes a multi‑level parking deck sited “behind” the commercial wall visible from U.S. 119/Grandview Avenue (referenced in the presentation as near an Applebee’s) and a pedestrian bridge connecting the institute to the deck at the upper levels so patients may move directly between the garage and clinic levels. Presenters said the deck will serve both staff and patient parking and will replace an area currently used for surface parking.

City staff and hospital designers said they coordinated the plan with the fire department. The presentation noted the vertical clearance under the deck is designed to meet fire apparatus standards (the presenters said an 18‑foot clearance was available in the design discussion) and that the access road alignment and width were adjusted so fire apparatus will have a dedicated lane and remain able to enter and exit during operations. The hospital said it will provide loading docks and dedicated service access behind the building.

Presenters said the project includes a guard shack at the deck entrance to help enforce a fire lane and visitor/employee access. They described the property transaction as swapping a currently city/Commission parcel (shown in the hospital’s exhibit as “yellow”) for a different parcel (“red”) so that the newly built and dedicated roadway would be accepted by the city and the parcel transferred to WVU Hospitals. The hospital also said the existing Eye Institute building will be torn down later as part of a larger campus plan that could include a future cancer hospital.

A city attorney briefed the committee on the legal steps needed to implement the swap: council must authorize the MOU and transfer, the building commission must amend the security documents tied to the 2013 lease revenue bonds, and the bond holder must agree that the relocation does not impair collateral. The city attorney told the committee the fire department leadership has reviewed and approved the design and the documents and is “comfortable that they will be able to maintain access and operations at all times.”

Councilmembers and some residents asked questions about pedestrian connections, transit stops and the timeline. Hospital presenters said sidewalks along Van Buren (appearing in the presentation as Van Bourse) will connect directly to the new facility and deck to provide an ADA‑compliant pedestrian route. A resident suggested exploring a Mountain Line bus stop “swing through” to the campus given the proximity to the bus terminal; presenters said sidewalks and drop‑off can accommodate many visitors and that hospital staff could assist patients as needed.

Timeline and next steps provided in the presentation: site fences and construction mobilization were expected to begin in February; the presenters said public communications state a 30‑month build schedule but they expected the project could complete in less time. City staff said council will receive the ordinance authorizing the MOU and related documents on February agendas for first and second readings, and the building commission will consider parallel documents in February.

Because Committee of the Whole meetings are informational, no formal council action was taken at this session; staff said the ordinance will be moved forward to the regular council meeting agendas in February for consideration.