Editor's note: This story is part of a recurring series that will provide updates on the status of properties of interest in the Erie area. Have a story suggestion? Email jmartin@timesnews.com

The reinvention of the former Regional Center for Workforce Excellence building, located at 155 W. Eighth St., is nearing the finish line.

The four-story structure, which Gannon University purchased for $825,000 in February 2020, needs to be ready for students to move in by Aug. 19. The building has been renamed South Hall and will house 95 students.

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From the outside looking in, that timeline might look like a tall order for the 40,000-square-foot building, located at West Eighth and Sassafras streets. Construction equipment and fencing surrounded much of the building during a July 20 visit.

And the first floor still looked every bit like a construction zone.

Things were different in the upper floors, though, where workers have been doing finish work from the top floor down, said Doug Oathout, a spokesman for the University, which expects to have $11 million invested in the project by the time the last student moves in.

The building offers 95 single bedrooms arranged in suites that include one, two or three bedrooms in addition to a bathroom and a common area. Most of those rooms were finished or nearly finished 10 days ago, awaiting only the furniture or perhaps a few finishing touches.

With blue-gray carpeting and gray trim, rooms on different floors looked mostly the same. That will change when furnishings arrive. Oathout said each floor will have a unique identity with a color scheme that reflects Erie changing appearance from sunrise to sunset.

Each of the four main floors includes a large lounge and a fully equipped kitchen.

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On July 20, crews from Plyer Entry Systems were busy installing a unique feature in the fourth-floor lounge, a series of four glass overhead garage-style doors that can be opened to the outside when weather permits.

In addition to a laundry facility, the building's finished basement includes space for a lounge and 15 storage rooms that can be rented by student residents.

Structural and cosmetic improvements also have been made to the building's 100-space parking lot.

Although Oathout described the building as structurally sound, all electrical and plumbing systems as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems were replaced.

"Everything is new," he said.

There were still plenty of loose ends to tie up, including finish work to be done on the first floor as well as laundry and kitchen appliances to install.

Supply chain issues have slowed the process, Oathout said, for instance, that an important electrical panel had arrived just a couple of days earlier.

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Despite the work yet to be done, Oathout expressed confidence in the timeline.

"It's only July 20 and we have a month to get it done," he said. "We'll get it done."

The building, which has been vacant for a couple of years, was the sole asset of the RCWE Holding Co. The Regional Center for Workforce Excellence ran publicly funded job training programs for Erie, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Venango and Warren counties until a state audit raised questions about RCWE's spending on the building.

RCWE fled for bankruptcy in 2017.

Gannon purchased the building from First National Bank, which bought it at a sheriff's sale for $69,335, an amount equal to the taxes and costs owed on the property.

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.