The HIVE at SU

With the design team of architect ESa, based in Nashville, Shockey performed the rehabilitation of an 18,000-square-foot National Guard Armory building into an award-winning technology hub, innovation accelerator, and magnet location for tech business startup, expansion, and relocation.

The historic Hazel-Pruitt Armory building, built in 1940, has been officially unveiled and reopened as the home of Shenandoah University’s Hub for Innovators, Veterans, and Entrepreneurs (The HIVE).

The building originally served as a training ground for the National Guard from World War II until the early 1990s, and it was once home to the only guard unit whose soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. The National Guard gifted the armory to the school a couple of decades ago, but it took awhile for SU to decide how to honor that legacy while also looking toward the future.

The HIVE complex is now the new home to SU’s Center for Immersive Learning (SCIL), where students create immersive virtual reality experiences to enhance learning, training, and more. There’s also a headquarters for eSports management students. Most resources in the repurposed Armory focus on technology fields ranging from augmented and virtual reality to cybersecurity to data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Named for two donors whose gifts made the project possible, the building also fosters outreach to veterans and military-associated families through the Student Veterans Center, and the Center for Entrepreneurship provides support for people who want to launch small businesses.

While preserving architectural and historic elements, Shockey’s construction scope included stabilizing the building, removing asbestos, and installing new systems. The modern design features open, flexible spaces with glass cubicles to encourage collaboration.

The HIVE project now offers services in partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Winchester, the counties of Frederick and Clarke, and local educational entities like Laurel Ridge Community College and the Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center (part of Winchester City Public Schools), as well as other local organizations and private investors.