Downtown, the Gorilla Rising project is advancing on schedule, and a renovation of this historic building by a developer will provide downtown student housing and office/commercial space; the university will lease the finished project. Crews are sheetrocking interior rooms and installing windows. Students are expected to move in next August just in time for the new academic year, and the ground floor will be the new home for Pitt State’s Center for Reading.
Masonry work is underway on the new Kelce College of Business, with brickwork on the north side completed, and progress being made on the west side (front). Windows have been installed, and interior sheetrocking is progressing steadily. Soon the ATM, left from the bank that previously occupied the site, will be shifted to accommodate additional access to parking. Ribbon cutting ceremonies are planned for the week of Aug. 11, 2026, for both the Kelce College of Business building and the Besse Hotel.
A team — working with University Architect Lindell Haverstic and Henderson Engineering — is evaluating the future of the existing Kelce building.
At the east edge of campus, site work is progressing on the new KBI facility. Although the building itself is a KBI-directed and KBI-funded project, the university will maintain the site — including sidewalks and landscaping. Upon completion, Pitt State Police & Public Safety will relocate from Horace Mann to this new facility. A shelled space within the building will remain until future funding enables the development of forensic science labs, reinforcing long-term academic goals in that field.
After a ground-breaking on Nov. 10, site work is underway on the Prove-Out Facility at the Tyler Research Center — home to the National Institute for Materials Advancement and next to the KBI building underway.
The new facility will provide space and equipment for businesses and entrepreneurs to test new materials, refine manufacturing processes, and move ideas from concept to commercialization.
Heckert-Wells (Biology and Chemistry) and Yates Hall (Mathematics and Physics) are in the design phase of a major renovation and expansion effort. The first phase of a comprehensive upgrade is planned to begin in the buildings next summer.
The project carries a $45 million phased construction budget, including $11 million from the state’s campus renewal funds targeted at infrastructure modernization. Additional funding will come from private, state, and federal sources as they become available.
Phase 1 will upgrade a major lab in Heckert-Wells. The project is part of Pitt State’s strengthened focus on STEM education.
Between the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts and the Crossland Technology Center, the outdoor track and field complex is taking shape. The track surface is complete.
The project is led by Mammoth Sports Construction. It features an eight-lane Beynon track, fencing, storage buildings, a practice area, and seating for up to 1,700 spectators. Completion is scheduled for March 2026 in time for Pittsburg to host the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The project is largely privately funded.
A recent investment by the City of Pittsburg will assist in adding seating and lighting — amenities that will allow the facility to host up to 14 multi-day events over the next five years, with an anticipated 36,000 attendees spending an average of $88 per day in Pittsburg for three to seven days.
According to Michael Davidsson, director of the Business & Economic Research Center, hosting these large outdoor meets could generate big benefits for the region: up to $3.4 million in new sales, 37 new jobs with a combined $1 million in income, and $137,000 in production and import taxes.
A contract has been awarded to Eldorado Climbing Walls for a student-driven climbing wall project at the Student Recreation Center. Final drawings are in progress. The wall will be built on the south end of the central section, between the basketball courts and the National Guard Armory.
After roughly nine months of major work on the aging tunnels beneath the Oval, a large section of the lawn has reopened — and looks even better than before, according to Haverstic. Another portion will reopen near the end of December.
The tunnel replacement was essential: these underground passageways carry high pressure steam condensate, and domestic water to core campus buildings and had reached the end of their lifespan.
For more information on campus construction and improvement projects, visit pittstate.edu.
— Pitt State —
