WV Regional Technology Park welcomes National Weather Service
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The West Virginia Regional Technology Park held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for Building 754. The new construction will be the home of the National Weather Service and provide additional square footage for future tenants of the Tech Park.
“The Tech Park is focused on science, research, and innovation,” said Matt Ballard, CEO and Executive Director of the Tech Park. “With the National Weather Service, we bring onto our campus a branch of science focused on the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, weather, water, and climate. It is science that impacts each of us daily. We are excited to welcome them to the family of innovators here at the Tech Park.”
“We are thrilled to relocate our operations at the Tech Park,” said Jamie Bielinski, Meteorologist-in-Charge for the National Weather Service. “This site was able to provide all the technical enhancements to meet our specific needs, including high speed broadband, utility redundancy, and the ability to construct a building that met our specialized Program of Requirements. A bonus was joining the community of scientists from different industries already located here.”
Building 754 will be a total of 22,000 square feet, a portion of which will house the National Weather Service. The board of directors for the Tech Park approved additional investment in Building 754 to provide room for future growth, jobs, and development at the Tech Park.
“Great things are happening at the Tech Park,” said David Hendrickson, chairman of the Tech park board of directors. “When the Tech Park was donated in 2011, we had 550 jobs, today, with this exciting new development, there are over 1,000 jobs at the Tech Park. We have plans to keep growing and contributing to the diversification of our regional economy.”
Mayor Frank Mullens was on hand to welcome the National Weather Service to South Charleston and congratulate the Tech Park on its continued growth.
“South Charleston would like to welcome the National Weather Service to the City of South Charleston. We look forward to seeing your people in our fine city and will do whatever we can to make you feel right at home,” Mullens said. “This is great sign for future of the Tech Park. South Charleston looks forward to our continued partnership with the leadership at the Tech Park to recruit more business and investment into the city.”
With the addition of Building 754 and the National Weather Service, the Tech Park will bring the Science On a Sphere® exhibit to benefit various educational opportunities for the community. Details about the exhibit will come once the project is complete.
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