A $69.3 million higher education project has expanded academic facilities at Fayetteville State University while adding specialized space for teacher preparation and collaborative learning. Metcon served as construction manager for the university's new College of Education, which officially opened Aug. 20 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The four-story, 72,027-square-foot facility replaces the need for dispersed instructional and administrative space and provides dedicated facilities for education programs.
The College of Education building contains classrooms, conference rooms, study areas, faculty offices and 30 learning and collaboration spaces. One of the specialized spaces is a mock courtroom, providing an instructional environment for applied learning.
A fourth-floor balcony is also incorporated into the facility.
The building's programming is intended to support Fayetteville State's teacher preparation operations and strengthen connections between the university, regional schools and surrounding communities.
The project also represents an investment in the university's long-standing role in educator preparation. Fayetteville State traces its history in teacher education to 1877, when it operated as North Carolina's first state-supported school established to train Black teachers.
Metcon has completed several previous projects at Fayetteville State University, including the Rudolph Jones Student Center, Renaissance Residence Hall, Lyon's Science Center and Planetarium, and Bronco Residence Hall.
The latest project is accompanied by a workforce-development investment. Metcon's Education and Community Foundation is providing $250,000 to the university's Construction Management Program.
The foundation, established in 2020, supports education and workforce development within the construction industry. The contribution connects the university's academic programs with construction workforce development and provides additional resources for students pursuing construction management careers.
Metcon has also completed projects for other North Carolina higher education institutions, including North Carolina Central University, UNC Pembroke and UNC Elizabeth City.
Higher education owners continue to require facilities that combine traditional instructional space with specialized environments for collaboration and applied learning. The Fayetteville State project demonstrates how a major academic building can incorporate varied instructional functions within a single facility.
For construction managers and university owners, the project also illustrates the connection between capital investment and workforce development. The accompanying Construction Management Program contribution extends the impact of the construction project beyond the completed facility by supporting development of future construction professionals.
Source: Metcon.
