VCU Developments

[burt]

they were even doing some demolition down there today (sunday) A lot of land has been cleared. I'm REALLY excited about this project. Definitely will be an improvement!

They must be on a fast-track construction schedule. Does anyone know where the underground 800-space parking deck will be located? This new campus is really going to improve the south side Of Main street, but the north side is mostly open lots. Wish there could be some kind of infill.

Edited November 7, 2005 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

here's the best I can do for a rendering of the new bed tower....

[wrldcoupe4]

found a newer rendering! is this what it looked like joey?

to give you perspective as to its location, the building to the right in the foreground is the White House of the Confederacy...

[burt]

And directly across the street from the White House is the former Medical Society of Virginia at 12th and Clay which my Grandfather founded (though not at that location). So that means, the new hospital is at the end of Clay Street blocking the view of Shockoe Bottom.

[Downtowner]

yes wrldcoupe thats what it looked like

[wrldcoupe4]

correct... and good to know!

[wrldcoupe4]

VCU Medical Center Expands Critical Care....

Groundbreaking was held today for VCU's new 15 story Critical Care Tower...

The 15-level, $192 million, 367,000 square-foot building, due to open in fall 2008, will greatly enhance the VCU Medical Center

[wrldcoupe4]

this tower will be verrry visible from I-95

[burt]

this tower will be verrry visible from I-95

Seems to me everytime it is mentioned, the floor height is different. I think I've heard everything from 11 to 18 floors. Do you suppose the 15 story story is correct? Of course, it obviously will be higher from the back than from the Clay street side. It looked about 12 floors in the latest image.

[wrldcoupe4]

well it's kind of both...it'll be 11-12 on the Clay St side, but 15 on the 13th st/Duval Connector side.

[burt]

VCU Medical School of Nursing will relocate to the Theatre Row Building at 8th and Broad temporarily while their new building at 11th and Leigh streets is being constructed. Also, pending General Assembly approval, VCU plans to lease all or portions of seven floors in the building for 15 years. Theatre Row bears that name because it was constructed on the site of the former Colonial Theatre, and fortuitously, the original theatre facade was incorporated into the base of the building.

The move-in is scheduled at the end of the spring term at which time demolition will begin on the present Italian Renaissance Revival style Nursing building at 1220 East Broad.

Edited November 18, 2005 by burt

[burt]

VCU is planning a $47 million Student Recreation Center on the site of the old City Auditorium (presently known as the Cary Street Gymnasium) at 911 West Cary.

Before the Mosque (now Landmark Theatre) opened about 1928, the barn of a building called City Auditorium was used for concerts and such and was much reviled for its acoustic and visual drawbacks.

I believe it was originally built as a market.

Edited November 18, 2005 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

guess the good news is that the Theatre Row office tower will be full soon and for the next 15 years..... probably explains why it wasn't an option for the school board. Kind of sad that the City Auditorium will be torn down. It had a neat feel to it. Hopefully what replaces it won't be bland and uninspiring.

[burt]

guess the good news is that the Theatre Row office tower will be full soon and for the next 15 years..... probably explains why it wasn't an option for the school board. Kind of sad that the City Auditorium will be torn down. It had a neat feel to it. Hopefully what replaces it won't be bland and uninspiring.

I fail to see why there is any affection for this ugly building. I'm like Shak on this one - get rid of it and replace it with something sleek. $47M is enough to make it an attractive student recreation center. I believe tennis courts in or near the site are also in the plans.

[wrldcoupe4]

I just like it.. I've liked it since I was a kid and I was going to VCU soccer games on that turf field next to it...

But since it's going, hopefully VCU puts something there worth looking at.

[wrldcoupe4]

there's a HUGE piece in the TD about VCU's impact on Downtown Richmond... I'll post it later...

[burt]

I just like it.. I've liked it since I was a kid and I was going to VCU soccer games on that turf field next to it...

But since it's going, hopefully VCU puts something there worth looking at.

I'm sure you noticed in the rendering that it's not being demolished but will be incorporated into the new structure.

Edited November 20, 2005 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

I sure did.... pleased me a little bit

[wrldcoupe4]

Fantastic article by Bob Rayner about VCU and how it is transforming the city.

Then and Now: VCU's presence on Broad

an excerpt:

Broad Street is only the most striking example of the school's transforming influence on its corner of the city.

All across the campus, new buildings rise -- spiffy high-rise dorms, a glittering engineering school -- while old ones are brought back to life.

The next few years will bring even more eye-opening change, especially on the expanded campus east of Belvidere and south of Main Street, where construction has just started on a new business school and a second phase of the engineering school.

VCU still harbors its share of eyesores and bland, fading modern structures. But then so does U.Va. or any other major university.

Richmond's urban university retains the diverse city vibe I found there 17 years ago. But it also is achieving a head-turning blend of old and new.

Franklin Street exudes a fine academic elegance. Broad Street is all energy, motion, commerce and youthful searching.

Pull it all together and it feels like progress -- relentless and unyielding. Just what the old city needs.

Edited November 20, 2005 by wrldcoupe4

[wrldcoupe4]

Another good article about VCU's expansion:

VCU's Growing Footprint

Development 'snowball' keeps rolling as university's expansion helps redefine downtown...

Jim Dunn, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, sometimes speaks in metaphors.

Metaphorically is one way he thinks about Virginia Commonwealth University and the critical role the university and its president, Eugene P. Trani, have played in the life of Richmond.

Trani, who came to VCU in 1990, got the ball rolling on downtown development, Dunn said.

"Now it's a snowball that's caught on fire."

also, here's a great interactive map of everything that is happening at VCU... and the doesn't even include MCV!

http://media.gatewayva.com/rtd/multimedia/Downtown/index.htm

[urbanvb]

http://media.gatewayva.com/rtd/multimedia/Downtown/index.htm

The interactive map is awesome.

[burt]

I didn't see a helluva lot about VCU Medical. Yes, the immediate necessaries like the much too small Massey Cancer Center (see my critique, also, about the too small Fed Court House up the street) and renderings of the very distasteful Bed Hospital. If I had influence over the Confederate White House, I'd move it too if that horror were rising above me! It is disgusting if the present rendering is absolute!

VCU, as good as it is for Richmond's future, is sorely in need of architectural inspiration!

[wrldcoupe4]

this part didn't focus on MCV at all...

Since they will still be using the old courthouse as well as the new one, I think both might be adequate.

[burt]

this part didn't focus on MCV at all...

Since they will still be using the old courthouse as well as the new one, I think both might be adequate.

You've read, of course, of the courthouse fights in Norfolk. Richmond, the home of a FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT (one of very few in the Nation), will end up with less square footage in both its buildings than Norfolk. Do you think that is good management of future space demands? I don't.

Sacramento, though capital of a MUCH bigger state than Virginia, had a building of about 40 stories built for its Fed courthouse.

Besides, the rendering of the 7th/8th street building looks about 2 floors high. Of course, I realize that it is considersbly higher than that, but IT'S NOT BIG ENOUGH!!!

Edited November 21, 2005 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

it's 8 floors, 200k sf and Shakman says it will be as tall as the Murphy's Hotel. And it will be a beautiful structure. Perhaps they will build it to support more floors for the future? And its still nice to say that Richmond is home to the 4th Federal Circuit. Kind of like it's nice to say that it is only 1 of 12 cities that has a Federal Reserve HQ. And there also might be a very plausible explanation for the difference in size between richmond's and Norfolk's....

Massey Cancer Center is DEFINITELY too squatty for its location. It's a shame VCU has a habit of that.