VCU is planning to open a new School of Dentistry building on the MCV campus. (Courtesy VCU)
After initially pondering construction of a new School of Dentistry on the site of the city-owned Public Safety Building, VCU says it is now planning the project on another downtown parcel that’s already controlled by the university.
VCU announced on Monday the upcoming facility would be “co-located at the site of” its Larrick Student Center at 900 Turpin St., which is part of the university’s MCV campus and near the dentistry school’s existing facilities.
Further details on the project were scant, except that the plan is to construct the building on university-owned property. VCU officials were unavailable for comment Monday.
Described as a “new building” in VCU’s announcement, the facility is planned to feature classrooms, labs and patient clinics. In addition to providing instruction to the university’s dental students, the facility will also be the site of dental care for the general public. VCU says its dentistry school is the largest dental care provider for Virginians on Medicaid.
A new School of Dentistry has been on VCU’s capital plan since 2021. Last year, the board of visitors voted to update the plan with a revised cost estimate of $415 million for the project intended to replace the school’s existing facilities.
At the time, VCU had said it had hoped to put the new dentistry school atop the Public Safety Building property at 500 N. 10th St., which is a block away and was once pursued by VCU Health as a redevelopment project that ended in controversy. It’s unclear where the anticipated cost of the relocated dentistry school project now stands.
Funds for design work related to the Turpin Street project are included in the state’s proposed budget, which lawmakers are actively hashing out. VCU has requested an allocation of $5.2 million to start the design phase of the project.
VCU has determined that its current dental education facilities – the Lyons Dental Building at 520 N. 12th St., the W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. Building at 1101 E. Leigh St. and Dental Building 1 at 521 N. 11th. St. – are no longer adequate for the needs of students and patients and are beyond their useful lives. VCU says the oldest parts of the facilities date back more than 70 years, and that the buildings have more than $75 million in deferred maintenance.
In a Q&A published by VCU in January, School of Dentistry Dean Lyndon Cooper said new facilities were needed to keep the program competitive.
“Among the 72 dental schools in the U.S., 10 are brand new, and others have constructed new facilities. Our 70-year-old school will no longer be competitive in the recruitment of some of the most talented students and faculty,” Cooper said. “We cannot fulfill the educational, clinical, research and service ideals of our mission in our current buildings. Eventually, our facilities will reach the point where they cannot be maintained.”
VCU says its dentistry school graduates about 105 dental students and 20 dental hygiene students every year.
With the dentistry school now eyed for Turpin Street, Monday’s announcement leaves open the possibility of a new fate for the Public Safety Building site. Demolition of the city-owned building has been ongoing since last year, with VCU Health on the hook for the cost as a provision for its exit from a failed redevelopment proposal for the site.
One potential future use was suggested earlier this year, when GRTC disclosed that the 10th Street site was on its shortlist of potential locations for its planned permanent bus transfer station.
VCU is planning to open a new School of Dentistry building on the MCV campus. (Courtesy VCU)
After initially pondering construction of a new School of Dentistry on the site of the city-owned Public Safety Building, VCU says it is now planning the project on another downtown parcel that’s already controlled by the university.
VCU announced on Monday the upcoming facility would be “co-located at the site of” its Larrick Student Center at 900 Turpin St., which is part of the university’s MCV campus and near the dentistry school’s existing facilities.
Further details on the project were scant, except that the plan is to construct the building on university-owned property. VCU officials were unavailable for comment Monday.
Described as a “new building” in VCU’s announcement, the facility is planned to feature classrooms, labs and patient clinics. In addition to providing instruction to the university’s dental students, the facility will also be the site of dental care for the general public. VCU says its dentistry school is the largest dental care provider for Virginians on Medicaid.
A new School of Dentistry has been on VCU’s capital plan since 2021. Last year, the board of visitors voted to update the plan with a revised cost estimate of $415 million for the project intended to replace the school’s existing facilities.
At the time, VCU had said it had hoped to put the new dentistry school atop the Public Safety Building property at 500 N. 10th St., which is a block away and was once pursued by VCU Health as a redevelopment project that ended in controversy. It’s unclear where the anticipated cost of the relocated dentistry school project now stands.
Funds for design work related to the Turpin Street project are included in the state’s proposed budget, which lawmakers are actively hashing out. VCU has requested an allocation of $5.2 million to start the design phase of the project.
VCU has determined that its current dental education facilities – the Lyons Dental Building at 520 N. 12th St., the W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. Building at 1101 E. Leigh St. and Dental Building 1 at 521 N. 11th. St. – are no longer adequate for the needs of students and patients and are beyond their useful lives. VCU says the oldest parts of the facilities date back more than 70 years, and that the buildings have more than $75 million in deferred maintenance.
In a Q&A published by VCU in January, School of Dentistry Dean Lyndon Cooper said new facilities were needed to keep the program competitive.
“Among the 72 dental schools in the U.S., 10 are brand new, and others have constructed new facilities. Our 70-year-old school will no longer be competitive in the recruitment of some of the most talented students and faculty,” Cooper said. “We cannot fulfill the educational, clinical, research and service ideals of our mission in our current buildings. Eventually, our facilities will reach the point where they cannot be maintained.”
VCU says its dentistry school graduates about 105 dental students and 20 dental hygiene students every year.
With the dentistry school now eyed for Turpin Street, Monday’s announcement leaves open the possibility of a new fate for the Public Safety Building site. Demolition of the city-owned building has been ongoing since last year, with VCU Health on the hook for the cost as a provision for its exit from a failed redevelopment proposal for the site.
One potential future use was suggested earlier this year, when GRTC disclosed that the 10th Street site was on its shortlist of potential locations for its planned permanent bus transfer station.
Tangential note: how are there only 72 dental schools in the country? Based on how hard it was for me to find a dentist taking new patients in Richmond (and that they command the higher pay than a family doctor) it seems like the market is there for more dentists and dental schools.
I’m calling it now folks. 2 firings, multiple Stoney requests to random players with no experience and at least $150m in buyout penalties paid by the school.
Actually, by locating on VCU (state) owned property, Stoney and the city are cut out of the design, zoning, approval, and financing processes. It’s a state owned building on state property. Which might explain VCUs decision to locate on this site. It also frees up the public safety site for other development.
Stephen: Agreed. And focusing on your final point, perhaps this will open the door for private developers to come in, purchase the land from the city and put together a significant high-density mixed-use development that is more in line with the City Center small area plan. Perhaps any large-scale build-out could include the city’s planned transit hub as part of the larger development. Mind you, it would be helpful to just get City Center off the ground – and to date, the city has yet to select the actual developer from the four finalists to handle the initial “Phase I”… Read more »
City Center proposal and prospects for anything (even a developer selection) before he leaves office is more dead than the Mayor’s campaign for Governor. Any focus on City Center would cause the almost dying Diamond District plan to collapse. The current administration CAN’T chew gum and walk at the same time.
Where’s the laugh emoji?
This one?.😂
I’ve had similar concerns, Michael, regarding the fate of City Center and the Diamond District. I questioned the city’s going forward with the RFP process for both so close together. While at least something has been made public about the ongoing delays with the Diamond District, the fact that there has been nothing but the sound of very loud chirping crickets coming out of 901 E. Broad Street about City Center has me seriously losing hope that we’ll ever see this get off the ground. I’ve said it here and elsewhere – the city has absolutely no business whatsoever LARPing… Read more »
The mayor wants the city to grow into its full potential, that is pretty obvious (especially compared to his last 2 predecessors). While he’s definitely not perfect, I believe what’s holding the city back is the City Council. THAT’S where the incompetence is.
The biggest weakness is the Mayoral electoral process in which one with a mere 35% of the vote and no administrative experience takes the reins of an almost impossibly locked-up bureaucracy. To his credit, Lavar has been a vast improvement over the previous two mayors, but that hurdle was a low one. We were better off with the city manager system.
City Council not engaged. Everything is in Leonard Sledge’s shop. It is true that the Council is completely indifferent, but this slow walking is all Stoney
Is there a process. a MOU, where the Commonwealth could “take over” Richmond and sub contract the various departments to functioning entities like Henrico? Finance and Utilities to begin with. Then after a period of high performance they would be returned to the City.