Pinebridge project: Mayland President talks about progress

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  • President of Mayland Community College John Boyd shows off architecture plans for the soon-to-be Three Peaks Enrichment Center. The old Pine Bridge complex and hotel are both under construction to become part of Mayland’s campus.
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SPRUCE PINE — Slowly but surely, progress is being made on the project that will turn the old Pinebridge Coliseum into Mayland Community College’s Three Peaks Enrichment Center.

Construction on the parking lot is nearly finished and on the inside, the cosmetology program area is coming together quickly. 

Mayland Community College President John Boyd said the goal is to open the cosmetology portion in October.

“We’ve got a timeline in place for the next six years to try and get this done,” Boyd said. “It’s about a $36 million project and we’re only short about $36 million but we’ll find it and we’ll get there.”

According to Boyd, the next phase of construction covered for the next fiscal year includes the Resource Center for Entrepreneurs (RCE), the kitchen at the front of the center and working on a temporary event space to hold events like graduation.

“We want to make use of the space even though it won’t be finished for a while,” he said. “It progresses as fast as we can pay, so we want to get the arena area functioning so we can use it while we progress.”

When completed, the center will not just be for Mayland students, Boyd noted.

“On the coliseum side, the event space that’s going to be inside will have multiple purposes,” he said. “So, at Christmas time, we’d hopefully have a market and a temporary ice rink. We can also set it up to have about 2,000 seats so we can hold concerts and circuses and stuff like that.”

Boyd said he’s heard some comments on social media that the coliseum should be repurposed into a recreation center for local residents and kids to have something to do. He said if Mayland focused solely on Mitchell county residents and their needs, the local economy alone would not be able to support the center. 

“In order to have a quality place that allows our kids and people with things to do, it has to have a greater draw than just Spruce Pine,” Boyd said. “What we’re looking at is not just a touristy thing, though. It’s also a place for our locals and something that will keep a lot of our kids here rather than moving away, as well as a draw for other people to come in.”

Boyd added he anticipates the 2020 Census will show the tri-county area is shrinking. He added it is difficult to provide locals with restaurants, shops and events if there is a dwindling population.

“One of the things that helps that population base is having tourists coming in,” Boyd said. “If we could get a few hundred people here at the center every weekend, that would be huge for the local economy. They would shop at local businesses, eat at local restaurants and walk around town. I don’t think a lot of people understand that.”

The former Pinebridge Inn, which will be revitalized and called Blue Ridge Boutique according to Boyd, is also progressing.

“We’re moving along with the hotel, too,” he said. “Each of the rooms will highlight the local area in some way, like the Roan Mountain Room and the Mount Mitchell Room.”

Boyd said they hope to partially open the hotel next May with about 17 rooms. 

Both the Pinebridge Inn and Coliseum were obtained by Mayland in 2015, after former own Robert Bailey donated the buildings to the community college.

“We were very grateful to Robert Bailey for donating this to us,” Boyd said. “He put a lot of his money into making something for the community. We’re hoping to take what Robert built and put it toward something else great for the community and beyond.”