POMEROY — Architectural plans for the new University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College Meigs Center have been approved by the state, allowing the Meigs County Community Improvement Corporation to award a bid for construction early in 2007.

Meigs County Economic Development Director Perry Varnadoe said the Ohio Department of Commerce approved plans for the college branch earlier this week and issued a building permit, allowing the CIC to advertise for bids for construction. Varnadoe said construction of the new center will begin at the Rocksprings site in late winter.

The 10,000 square-foot center will be built by the CIC for lease by Rio Grande Community College. The expanded facility will allow Rio Grande to increase course offerings to 55 per semester, add 10 bachelor’s degree courses in three years, add five master’s degree courses in classroom teaching, expand associate degree programs and add a general studies certificate program.

The new center will be located between Meigs Middle School and Meigs High School on property provided by the Meigs Local Board of Education. The district hopes the new center’s proximity to Meigs High School will afford more Meigs students the opportunity to enroll in the post-secondary education option, which allows high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in free college-level courses while still completing their high school diplomas.

The location near the junctions of U.S. 33 and Ohio 7 is also considered more convenient to commuter students than the current location on Mill Street in Middleport.

Construction on the new center is expected to take between nine months and a year to complete, Varnadoe said.