College to Add New Parking on Campus

As the size of the student body at Bluefield College continues to rise, so does the need for more on-campus parking.

As a result, Bluefield College administrators have been exploring options to add more parking spaces on campus for quite some time, and now, thanks to a generous gift from a BC friend, plans to build a new parking lot are now becoming a reality.

Already under construction, the new parking lot will be located in front of Rish Hall and will add 31 additional parking spaces on campus. The spaces will be devoted primarily to resident and commuter students; however, some spaces will be reserved for faculty and visitors. According to Josh Arnold, associate vice president for student development, the location of the new lot will give residents of Rish Hall more parking directly near their residence and will also provide parking directly in front of the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE).

“The new lot should help ease parking congestion on campus,” Arnold said, “particularly during peak visiting hours, such as during chapel days.”

BC students also participated in the planning process for the new parking lot. Student leaders who served on the Board of Trustees Facilities Committee had the opportunity to review and comment on the design plans before the Board gave its final approval for the project. 

The gift that helped advance the parking lot project came from a member of Highlands Fellowship, a Christian congregation that uses Harman Chapel for its church services and who will also benefit from the additional parking.