Provided
A grant from Center City has helped West Texas A&M University tackle one of the biggest challenges for the University’s Amarillo location—parking availability.
WT and Center City officials announced Aug. 16 that the Amarillo-based nonprofit has given the University a total of $89,500 in grants, the latest of which helps complete a parking lot adjacent to Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center, 720 S. Tyler St. in downtown Amarillo.
“Some may not think a parking lot is much of a gift to celebrate,” WT President Walter V. Wendler said in prepared comments. “Those are people who have not spent much time on a university campus. With sincere gratitude, I am thankful for the Center City Board of Directors for their devotion to the revitalization and improvement of downtown Amarillo.”
The Amarillo Center is home to approximately 400 students taking classes in nursing, education, communication disorders, counseling, psychology and social work. About 60 faculty and staff members work in the center, as well.
The Baptist Community Services Nursing Education Floor on the center’s second floor is alone home to more than 250 nursing students. The Center for Learning Disabilities and the Speech and Hearing Clinic—located on the third and first floors, respectively—each serve students and clients from throughout the region. America’s Small Business Development Center at WTAMU, located on the first floor, offers critical support for companies around the Panhandle and beyond.
“The future vision of West Texas A&M University is to grow from a university of 10,000 students to a regional research university of 15,000 students,” said Dr. Neil Terry, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “The physical presence of WT in Amarillo, and supporting the economic development of the region, is a critical component to successfully achieving this goal.”
Center City has distributed more than $1.3 million in façade grants since 1996, said Beth Duke, executive director.
“Our strategic plan is to make downtown a place to live, work, play, learn and worship. WT’s Harrington Academic Hall is a major part of achieving that goal,” Duke said. “WT has done a beautiful job in repurposing a former department store and office building into a prestigious downtown university center. This gift represents an exciting new chapter for WT and for downtown Amarillo.”
The Aug. 16 gift of $19,500 helped complete the parking plaza at Eighth Avenue and Harrison Street. Previously, Center City gave WT $20,000 in 2016 for improvements to the Amarillo Center.
The City of Amarillo’s Center City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone board has given an additional $100,000.
The total budget for the parking lot renovations was $1.5 million, including water and sewer improvements, storm drainage, paving and right-of-way landscaping, sidewalks, streetscapes, lighting and more.
WT is committed to serving locally first by addressing opportunities and issues of the people of our region as a regional research university, as laid out in the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched Sept. 23 — has raised about $110 million.
-West Texas A&M University