WILLISTON, N.D. - Williston State College is pleased to announce that it has been named the recipient of a grant from the Williston Star Fund in the amount of $178,000. The funds will be used for the construction of a Pedestrian Corridor, which will provide access between the new Western Star Career and Technology Center, Stevens Hall, Train ND, and The Well.
The Western Star Career and Technology Center, which houses the Department of Motor Vehicles Office, the WSC welding program, the residential carpentry program and the agriculture program, as well as a large conference room, is the impetus for the creation of the Pedestrian Corridor.
Work on the Pedestrian Corridor will include new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping. The project is still in the design phase but it is hoped that bids can be called for and construction can be done yet this fall, according to Justin Maddison, WSC Vice President of Business Services.
WSC President Dr. Raymond Nadolny told the Williston City Commission at its May 24 meeting that the project is a single phase of work that is part of the Master Plan the college has developed in an effort to improve the aesthetics of the campus. The overall plan calls for relocating the main parking behind Stevens Halls and The Well and putting a circular drive in front of the buildings, which will have a campus quad in the center of it. This will then all be landscaped and made to be almost park-like.
The Master Plan was approved by the North Dakota Legislature which approved funding, with an additional $500,000 in matching funds being provided by the WSC Foundation.
"I am humbled and gratified by the support the city has shown the college by allowing us to not only expand access to the college, but to create an environment that reflects what is best about the city," Nadolny said.