Collegiate Times

The new Visitors Center off of Prices Fork will open in July.

The July 5 opening of the new visitors center and admissions building will provide a better and more memorable experience for incoming students and their parents.

The new building will host over 50,000 visitors per year that visit Virginia Tech and will be the new processing center for over 26,000 student applications that arrive in the admissions office each year.

Covered in the signature Hokie Stone with arches, towers, and iron work made to match the other land mark buildings on campus, the new visitor center costs $10.5 million, is 18,100 square feet, and took four years to complete.

Located on Prices Fork Road near the new ceremonial entrance, the land that the new building is located on used to be part of the campus golf course, but has not been in use since the Inn at Virginia Tech was built.

The building contains two conference rooms, an exhibit area, a visitor’s center, and the entire admissions office staff, previously located in Burruss Hall.

The new building will also provide a central location for visitors to get information, campus tours, and parking passes.

“The old vinyl-sided building was shockingly small for such a large university,” said Laureen White, a mother of a Tech graduate. “Eliza and I visited Tech when she was a prospective undergraduate student and with the old visitor center I got the feeling from Tech that she would just be another number there. It seemed very underwhelming in every aspect.”

With many added conveniences and a comfortable environment, the new building proves to change visitor’s experiences completely.

The atrium has interactive displays that contain information on the history of the university, student life, and the effect the university has had on the commonwealth of Virginia.  

With transportation as a concern, the office features an additional parking lot and shuttle bus to and from the center of campus.

“With the new computer age, most people are computer literate and will be able to use these new amenities,” said Raneir Hart, a current Hokie parent. “For the new students and their parents, having all the information in one place will be just wonderful.”

White is excited to see and experience all the new amenities the building has to offer.

“It seems more up-to-date and overall better for prospective students and parents,” White said. “The new technologies will help everyone find their way around without having to navigate an unfamiliar campus.”

A version of this article appeared in the Jun 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.