PJC To Hold Ribbon-Cutting for W. Frank Grimes Center

Published or Revised August 30, 2013

Cutting edge classrooms and increased lecture hall space will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Paris Junior College’s W. Frank Grimes Center grand re-opening at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 22. Originally called the W. Frank Grimes Natural Sciences and Mathematics Center, the south wing of the Administration Building will now host social sciences classrooms and offices. History, government, psychology and sociology programs that were located in the Bobby R. Walters Workforce Training Center will be in place to greet students when the fall semester starts on Aug. 26. A total of $2 million was spent by PJC on architectural fees, construction, new technology and furniture. The renovation includes seven classrooms, two lecture halls and 15 faculty offices, as well as a new student lobby. The administration building was built in 1940 and the Grimes Center was added in 1972. Student safety is enhanced by the relocation, since academic classes will be consolidated on the south side of Clarksville Street and workforce programs on the north side, so fewer students will need to cross that busy thoroughfare. Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Construction was the construction manager at risk on the project, a role the company successfully held for the Math and Science Building and the South Residence Hall.