WSTB

App State has announced a new campus in Hickory after buying Corning Optical Communications Building.

"According to the university, the five-story building — at 225,800 square feet — is larger than any building on App State’s Boone campus, including the 203,000-square-foot Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences. The building sits on 15.7 acres of land and includes large open spaces, a cafeteria and nearly 700 parking spaces.

....

According to the university, App State recognizes that growth potential in Boone is limited, which is why the university has been looking for areas that have growth capacity and market potential for both on-campus and online programs. This growth, according to the university, will allow App State to continue to "fulfill its educational mission and its responsibility to educate the citizens of the State of North Carolina."

Until Nov. 19, Everts said Hickory was the largest largest metropolitan area in North Carolina that did not have a major public university campus."

https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/as ... 5b9a5.html

This is good for both Hickory and App U, I reckon. It further legitimizes the WSJ’s paying more attention to App U than Wake Forest. By this, I mean more WSJ coverage for App U especially in sports. I reckon this is actually good being the major newspaper for NW NC.

Interesting news. Very glad for Hickory but I do hope if App State’s admin is evaluating options for expanding their educational mission in NWNC, that there is dialogue with Greater WS Inc. about the possibilities of opening an similar campus in Camel City. The IQ is the obvious choice but perhaps the BB&T Bldg could provide a suitable location as well.

Zalo, I love that idea!

I initially wondered why App State chose Hickory over W-S (or Charlotte) for the campus. Then, I saw the purchase price for the building. $1MM for a 225K sq foot building on 15 acres

For comparison's sake, the BB&T tower in downtown Winston is 240K sq feet, and sold in 2014 for $60MM. The Hearst/Truist Tower in Charlotte is 966K sq feet and sold for $456MM in 2020. Nature Valley recently paid $10.5MM for a 426,800 sq foot building at Whitaker Park.

Truist Tower (Charlotte) - $472/sq foot (last sale price)
BB&T Building (W-S) - $250/sq foot (last sale price)
Nature Valley Whitaker Park (W-S) - $24.60/sq foot (last sale price)
New App State campus (Hickory) - $4.50/sq foot (last sale price)