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The two lots are at 1530 and 1540 4th Avenue, which now have two vacant apartment buildings awaiting demolition. Construction of the new building at the corner of 4th Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard is expected to begin soon according to Marshall officials.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe are very excited about the development of the new ICS (Institute for Cyber Security), as well as the plan to create a new building-scape along 4th Avenue. The Innovation Corridor will be a world-class, mixed-used and high-tech environment that is exciting for our entire community,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Marshall Communications Director Leah Payne said in an email to The Herald-Dispatch reporter Katelyn Aluise.

Along with the new Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation, named for MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s president, and a possible new headquarters building for the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center, 4th Avenue is in middle of a transition from a commercial and entertainment (in other words, college bar) center to one of HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s education and innovation corridors.

Marshall long ago outgrew its previous confines of Hal Greer, 5th Avenue, 20th Street and 3rd Avenue. It has expanded along Hal Greer south of the CSX tracks to the point where its partnership with what is now Marshall Health dominates the formerly residential and commercial street. Could the same thing be happening along 4th Avenue?

Likewise, with the construction of Joan C. Edwards Stadium more than 30 years ago (that long? yes), Marshall has moved east along 3rd Avenue toward St. MaryÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Medical Center, although its presence along that street is nowhere near as much as it along Hal Greer. The upcoming renovation of the old ACF Industries machine shop to house programs offered by the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center is an indication of growth there.

Growth to the north is blocked by Steel of West Virginia and the Ohio River, and thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s little left to the south, so growth of the campus in physical terms will come to the east and the west.

Mid-level schools such as Marshall are in a state of constant change. The pool of graduating high school seniors is expected to shrink in West Virginia and elsewhere in the coming decade. Universities must sell themselves as something other than a place for young adults to party and learn a few things while they pursue their career dreams.

ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s obvious Marshall is pursuing specialty niches such as forensic sciences and manufacturing technology. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s becoming a place for young people and for people established in their careers to learn the applied sciences and technologies that will be in demand by government, business and industry. As Marshall changes, so will the neighborhoods it expands into.