Bowie State Names Contractors for New Entrepreneurship Living-Learning Community

Balfour Beatty Construction & Smoot Construction to Lead $42M Project

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bowie State University plans construction of a new minimum 450-bed living-learning community with retail space in Prince George’s County, Maryland, to meet the growing demand for on-campus student housing and to help spur the expansion of entrepreneurial innovation by providing a new home for the university’s Entrepreneurship Academy[BROKEN LINK] and Bowie Business Innovation Center (Bowie BIC).

Balfour Beatty Construction, an industry leader for more than 85 years, was awarded the contract for the $42 million project that will be substantially funded with tax-exempt bonds through the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO). Balfour Beatty will partner with Smoot Construction, a minority-owned general contractor, and Design Collective, Inc., a national, award-winning design firm. Site Resources, Inc., a woman-owned business, has already begun work on preliminary site studies.

Construction is slated to begin in February 2020 and be completed by July 2021. The university has experienced a significant shortage in available campus housing as undergraduate enrollment increased more than 23 percent in the past three years.

“As the university continues to grow, we are seeing increases in demand not only for housing, but also for specialized living-learning environments to engage students inside and outside the classroom,” said Anthony Savia, vice president for administration and finance at Bowie State. “We’re fortunate to partner with Balfour Beatty, a leader in creating unique housing experiences for campuses across the county.”

The new residence hall and entrepreneurship center will be equipped with a student makerspace, two technology-infused classrooms, conference space and room to house student businesses. The retail space will be open to the public to enjoy.

The facility will increase residential accommodations on campus by at least 32 percent with a combination of double rooms and suites. Other modern amenities will include a fitness room, flexible meeting/academic spaces and small group recreation spaces for billiards and other games.

“This new living-learning facility will be a major step toward achieving our vision of creating an entrepreneurial environment at Bowie State where students from all disciplines can develop a mindset for innovative thinking and problem-solving,” said BSU President Aminta H. Breaux. “By infusing entrepreneurship education throughout the curriculum, we will further establish the university as a hub for entrepreneurs.”

Bowie State is already home to the Bowie BIC, Maryland’s first business accelerator located at a historically black university. It provides collaborative workspace, business scale-up resources and business development programs reaching more than 1,300 entrepreneurs in Prince George’s County.

The new Bowie State residence hall and entrepreneurship center will expand the university's capacity to prepare entrepreneurs and those with eye toward innovation for business success. 

###

About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.