MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Owens & Minor medical warehouse originally set to open in the WestRidge development has found a new home near the Morgantown Industrial Park and will open in June.
The $50 million project was initially planned to open in February of 2024 in the WestRidge development and it is not known why the project was delayed or how the project ended up in the Morgantown Industrial Park.
The warehouse, expected to employ about 100 will supply clinical supplies, surgical supplies, and custom procedure tray assembly and sterilization to WVU Medicine and others.
Owens & Minor developed a relationship during the personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages caused by the pandemic. At the time, both companies expected some cost savings while building resiliency in the event of another national or regional emergency.
When the project was delayed the first time in February of 2024, officials at WestRidge development released the following statement:
“As previously announced, Owens & Minor entered into a build-to-suit lease agreement for a new medical distribution center to be located at WestRidge,” WestRidge said in a statement. “Site preparation began in Fall 2022 and continued in 2023. Unfortunately, we can confirm that the commencement of building construction has been delayed. We are not able to provide further comment at this time due to related and ongoing discussions, however we remain fully committed to working diligently with all parties involved to address any challenges and complete the specialty project sought by Owens & Minor. WestRidge aims to attract and secure new companies to the region, whether in the office, industrial, or retail markets, in order to spur economic growth and enhance our region’s offerings. We appreciate our stakeholder and community support and will provide further updates to the public regarding this project once confirmed.”
The date for the June ribbon cutting has not been released.