Category: Excellence in Planning for an Established Campus

ProjeCt name: VCU 2020: 2004 Master Site PlanInstItutIon: Virginia Commonwealth UniversityCIty: Richmondstate: VirginiaCountry: USAtyPe of InstItutIon: Research Universityyear founded: 1968CamPus PoPulatIon (students, faculty, staff): 49,404master Plan ComPletIon date (year): 2004study area sIze (for a district plan): N/A

1 Problem and sCoPe of ProjeCt

Virginia Commonwealth University desired a campus master plan that would capture three outcomes: enhance the student experience, provide infrastructure for a significant national research institution, and balance the needs of two campuses. The plan was driven by enroll-ment stresses—in recent years, VCU’s Monroe Park and MCV campuses absorbed approxi-mately one-third of the growth of Virginia’s college-age population—and phenomenal growth in research funding. The University’s location in the heart of downtown Richmond, Va., exacerbates these pressures. Its campuses are tightly constrained on two footprints, including one that is bounded by five historic districts. Because there is virtually no land on which expand, development is focused on infill and targeted acquisition in “areas of future consideration.” VCU engaged the community to enhance opportunities for all citizens, being sensitive to overlaying campus planning with urban planning.

VCU BuildingsVCU Buildings: New ConstructionNon VCU Buildings

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park BuildingsVirginia Biotechnology Research Park Buildings: New ConstructionArea of Future Consideration

Monroe Park CaMPus IllUstRAtIVe PlAN

VCU BuildingsVCU Buildings: New ConstructionNon VCU Buildings

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park BuildingsVirginia Biotechnology Research Park Buildings: New ConstructionArea of Future Consideration

MCV CaMPus IllUstRAtIVe PlAN

Enrollment pressures were a master plan driver. VCU absorbed approxi-mately one-third of the growth of Virginia’s college-age population.

A new School of Nursing rises against the Richmond, Va., skyline. VCU is tightly constrained on two footprints, including one that is bounded by five historic districts.

2 Integrated PlannIng ProCesses

With President Eugene Trani’s arrival in 1990, Virginia Commonwealth University experienced an era of emphasis on campus planning. Dr. Trani also reached out to partner in Richmond’s revital-ization. (VCU is the Richmond metropolitan area’s largest employer, one of the largest holders of downtown real estate, and contributes significantly to economic development.) VCU embraced its urban environment and challenges in a 1996 plan to transform VCU and Virginia’s capitol city. VCU 2020 builds on the ‘96 plan to organize and further develop the school’s physical environment to help it mature as an institution, support enrollment growth, contribute to its reputation as a national research institution, and its role as leading “citi-zen.” VCU 2020 adopted themes to evaluate issues systemically, thus supporting its Strategic Vision. These included the impact of growth on : 1) student enrollment; 2) student profile; 3) on-cam-pus housing; 4) funded research; and the study of 5) academic spaces on the health sciences campus; 6) coordination of major initiatives; 7) “collegiate community” – student engagement; 8) Monroe Park as a center of activity; 9) strategic growth issues. Themes were coordinated with the Health System Strategic and Master Plan, Richmond’s master plan, and the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park Master Plan.

VCU evaluated planning issues systemically and sought involvement of neighborhood organizations, particularly with regards to historic districts.

VCU

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NIMPLEMENTED PROJECTS AND INIT IATIVESMONROE CAMPUS

VCU OWNED/OCCUPIED BUILDINGS AND FUTURE PROPOSED STRUCTURES PER MASTERPLAN

VCU IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

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1. AREA OF FUTURE CONSIDERATION2. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITY3. AREA OF FUTURE CONSIDERATION4. BIO MEDICAL ENGINEERING - SCHOOL OF MEDICINE5. RHOADES HALL RENOVATION - STUDENT HOUSING6. FRANKLIN TERRACE - SCHOOL OF THE ARTS7. SCHAFER COURT PLAYHOUSE RENOVATION 8. GINTER HOUSE RENOVATION9. HIBBS BUILDING RENOVATION10. SCOTT HOUSE RENOVATION11. POLLACK BUILDING RENOVATION12. MUSIC CENTER RENOVATION13. GENERAL CLASSROOMS / FACULTY OFFICES

14. JAMES BRANCH CABELL LIBRARY RENOVATION15. SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CLASSROOM RENOVATION 16. OLIVER HALL RENOVATION17. RECREATION SPORTS SWIMMING POOL18. RECREATION SPORTS OUTDOOR FACILITIES19. BIO CHIP FACILITY 20. SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ADDITION PHASE 221. NEW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS22. SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING / SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FUTURE EXPANSION23. STUDENT HOUSING, 400 BEDS24. ANDERSON GALLERY RELOCATION25. BELTING BUILDING RENOVATION

3 ImPlementatIon

As a public institution, VCU has sought creative solutions to access debt issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia, solicit private funds, maximize public/private partnerships, and utilize enrollment growth income to implement projects worth $800 million. This strategy allowed development of signature programs, innovative housing solutions, and enhancement of the campus edge through facilities that attract the public and business community.

VCU Implemented Projects and Initiatives

VCU Owned/Occupied Buildings and Future Proposed structures per Masterplan

Monroe Park CaMPus IMPleMeNtAted PROjeCts ANd INItIAtIVes

1 Area Of Future Consideration

2 Administrative Information technology Facility

3 Area Of Future Consideration

4 Bio Medical engineering - school Of Medicine

5 Rhoades Hall Renovation - student Housing

6 Franklin terrace - school Of the Arts

7 schafer Court Playhouse Renovation

8 Ginter House Renovation

9 Hibbs Building Renovation

10 scott House Renovation

11 Pollack Building Renovation

12 Music Center Renovation

13 General Classrooms / Faculty Offices

14 james Branch Cabell library Renovation

15 school Of Business Classroom Renovation

16 Oliver Hall Renovation

17 Recreation sports swimming Pool

18 Recreation sports Outdoor Facilities

19 Bio Chip Facility

20 school Of engineering Addition Phase 2

21 New school Of Business

22 school Of engineering / school Of Business Future expansion

23 student Housing, 400 Beds

24 Anderson Gallery Relocation

25 Belting Building Renovation

A 10.6-acre expansion (above) into an under-developed area of the city created an opportunity to capitalize on synergies between the Schools of Engineering and Business in this new building (below).

monroe Park ImPlementatIon

An example is transformation of an under-developed 10.6-acre tract of land into a thriving campus community on the Monroe Park Campus. This created an opportunity to capitalize on programmatic and physical synergies between the Schools of Engineering and Business, supported by quality campus housing, which reinforces academic endeavors. Public debt was utilized for instructional and infrastructure development, private and corporate donations for public venues and enhanced material quality; and fee revenues to support housing, food service and parking debt.

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VCU OWNED/OCCUPIED BUILDINGS AND FUTURE PROPOSED STRUCTURES PER MASTERPLAN

VIRGINIA BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH PARK BUILDINGS

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1. NEW 8TH STREET PARKING DECK COMPLETE2. NEW RESIDENTIAL LIFE COMMONS UNDER CONSTRUCTION3. NEW SCHOOL OF NURSING COMPLETE4. SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY ADDITION UNDER CONSTRUCTION5. WOODS/LYONS RENOVATION COMPLETE6. MCGUIRE HALL RENOVATION COMPLETE7. RICHMOND ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ACQUISITION COMPLETE8. TOMPKINS-MCCAW RENOVATION COMPLETE9. BLACKWELL-SMITH RENOVATION IN PLANNING10. NEW VCUHS BED TOWER COMPLETE11. LAND ACQUISITION COMPLETE12. SANGER HALL RESEARCH RENOVATION UNDER CONSTRUCTION13. HUNTON HALL RENOVATION COMPLETE14. NEW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN PLANNING15. MEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING II UNDER CONSTRUCTION16. RANDOLPH MINOR HALL RENOVATION COMPLETE17. LAND ACQUISITION COMPLETE

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NIMPLEMENTED PROJECTS AND INIT IATIVESMCV CAMPUS

VCU Implemented Projects and Initiatives

VCU Owned/Occupied Buildings and Future Proposed structures per Masterplan

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Buildings

MCV CaMPus IMPleMeNtAted PROjeCts ANd INItIAtIVes

1 New 8th street Parking deck Complete

2 New Residential life Commons Under Construction

3 New school Of Nursing Complete

4 school of dentistry Addition Under Construction

5 Woods/lyons Renovation Complete

6 Mcguire Hall Renovation Complete

7 Richmond Academy of Medicine Acquisition Complete

8 tompkins-Mccaw Renovation Complete

9 Blackwell-smith Renovation In Planning

10 New Vcuhs Bed tower Complete

11 land Acquisition Complete

12 sanger Hall Research Renovation Under Construction

13 Hunton Hall Renovation Complete

14 New school of Medicine In Planning

15 Medical sciences Building II Under Construction

16 Randolph Minor Hall Renovation Complete

17 land Acquisition Complete

A signature new School of Medicine, currently in design, is a highlight of the MCV campus plan.

mCV CamPus ImPlementatIon

On the MCV Campus, VCU capitalized on Virginia’s priorities to implement projects. For example, Virginia’s need for more physicians underlies access to $70 million in public debt for construction of a new School of Medicine, now in planning. This signature facility and will be built on the site of a WPA-era clinic, requiring close coordination with civic and preservation interests.

4 results

VCU is a concrete example of ‘university as an urban regenerator and good neighbor’ in a diverse urban context. Its identity and sense of place is in its ‘urbanness,’ its preserved historic resources that reflect surrounding neighborhoods of high archi-tectural and urban quality, its patience in assembling land parcels opportunistically to create thoughtful infill, and its ability to tie the complex web together with streetscapes, paving and graphic information to commu-nicate this complex circumstance. Success can be measured in a burgeoning student body, an enhanced student experience, and the creation of campus entries that cause the institution’s boundaries to be a seam, not a barrier. Two significant outcomes are contin-ued expansion on Broad Street, populating it with activity and retail, and a partnership with Richmond to renovate Monroe Park as the academic campus heart. This formerly neglected yet prominent civic space will provide a campus green and public space for use by students and citizens. Key partner-ships, integrated planning and engagement with the host community were critical to creating responses and opportunities. VCU is a textbook case that planners cannot talk to enough people, and that you have to move quickly.

VCU’s identity is in its “urbanness.”

Master plan success can be measured in an enhanced student experience, represented by new housing, Monroe Park residences (above) and Brandt Hall, a highrise (right).

INFORMAtION COMMONs

ClAssROOMs

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ReCReAtION sPORts sWIMMING POOl

lIFe sCIeNCes II

A partnership with the City of Richmond to renovate Monroe Park as the academic heart of campus, will invigorate this formerly neglected, yet prominent, civic space and provide a campus green for students and citizens.

Future projects, Monroe Park Campus. Future projects, MCV.

FUtURe AtHletIC exPANsION

stUdeNt HOUsINGPARkING FACIlIty

sANGeR HAllHUNtON HAll

MedICAl sCIeNCes BUIldING (MsB) II

FUtURe VIRGINIA BIOteCHNOlOGy ReseARCH PARk stRUCtURes

sCHOOl OF NURsING

5 fIVe most ImPortant Issues that drove decision-making

HIstorIC resourCe Issues

The Monroe Park campus occupies or abuts several historic districts. They are diverse socioeconomic districts. While providing a rich architectural context, their status also presents constraints, as well as challenges to preserve, renovate or adapt. VCU 2020 embraces its historic resources as part of its unique campus fabric, working with appropriate historic resource commissions and neighborhoods when making decisions about their future. Much attention was paid to the appropriateness of the design response while incorporating and adapting historic properties. VCU’s partnership with Richmond to renovate historic Monroe Park serves civic and campus objectives and represents a successful outcome.

VCU 2020 embraces its historic resources as part of its unique campus fabric, noted by this Franklin Street response, blended old with new.

Shafer Court Dining Center honors the neighboring Cathedral and a row of historic row houses.

A new addition to the former Grove Avenue Baptist Church is sympathetic to the building’s historic roots, now housing VCU’s James W. Black Music Center.

mIxed uses

Buildings that “multi-task” and districts that accommodate academic needs along with basic necessities such as housing and dining make VCU a unique urban experience, far different from a pastoral campus setting. This rich texture creates dynamism—and it is efficient when land is tight. For example, a Foundation Arts program on the top of one parking garage, a bookstore and visitor center on the first floor of a second, and a former church now student center and dining, create vitality. Ground level retail in new residence halls not only serves residents, but draws community. Shared aca-demic spaces capitalize on synergies.

Bookstores, restaurants, art galleries add vitality to VCU’s streets.

oPen sPaCe and PedestrIan CIrCulatIon

This plan enhances VCU’s open space and pedestrian experience. The Monroe Park Campus extension, organized around tradi-tional quadrangles that anchor its most dynamic programs, and utilization of a city park as a campus gateway, create a positive experience for students and community. The MCV campus, also challenged by traffic flow and open space, benefits from a connecting a network of diagonal courtyards and a “Past to Future Walkway” among its historic and research properties. Additionally, design standards, with a district sensitivity to scale help a large, urban university feel small and connected.

A dramatic scheme of connecting diagonal courtyards opens pleasant gathering spaces on the dense medical campus.

Green space / Open spaceBrick PaversVCU Medical Center Concourse

MCV CaMPus CIVIC sPACe PlAN

Green space / Open spaceBrick Pavers

Monroe Park CaMPus CIVIC sPACe PlAN

Monroe Park is a new campus gateway, creating a seamless connection to surrounding neighborhoods.

VCU’s Shafer Court Dining Center was set back from the corner to create a lively plaza.

student lIfe and suPPort serVICes

A major goal is the maturation of VCU from a commuter to a residential campus. Since 2004, almost 1,100 student housing beds have been added; the most recent residential community is a place where upper-class students in business and engineering can live, work, study and dine in an environment that reinforces academic endeavors. The Student Commons was renovated, and Shafer Court Dining Center opened, breaking sales and dining records and indicating demand for on-campus amenities. New recreation facilities are under construction. Streetscape and open-space improvements reinforce the growing high-quality campus environment. Future plans include an Information Commons.

An Information Commons, in planning, new housing and dining provide places where students can live, work, study and dine.

Streetscapes and paving details tie VCU’s complicated network of buildings together, reinforcing the high-quality campus environment.

town/gown relatIonsHIPs.

VCU has worked diligently to engage with its host community to achieve mutually beneficial results, and with much success. Key to building consensus for this plan was the involvement of neighborhood organizations, particularly in the historic districts, as well as work with city agencies on the continued expansion of Broad Street, replacing empty car lots with activity and retail. The city/uni-versity partnership to renovate Monroe Park as the academic campus heart will provide a prominent civic space for the enjoyment of all citizens. Other outreach programs, such as one involving inner city youth using VCU’s tennis center, are positive benefits.

A celebration of VCU’s 40th anniversary in 2007 was a community party on Monroe Park grounds.

VCU outreach programs such as utilizing VCU’s tennis center to teach the sport to inner city youths are positive benefits.