VCU broke ground on the $93 million facility on Tuesday. (Mike Platania)
The northeast corner of Cary and Belvidere streets is about to look a bit different, as work is underway on a multimillion-dollar research building for VCU’s School of Engineering.
The university broke ground on the four-story, 133,000-square-foot building at a ceremony Tuesday. VCU President Michael Rao and engineering dean Barbara Boyan were joined by Mayor Levar Stoney at the event.
In lieu of traditional classrooms, the $93 million building will house research labs, career services and faculty offices, and a 9,000-square-foot “Innovation Maker Facility” – an experiential learning space equipped with a 3-D printer and other tools. The building also will have a glass pavilion and outdoor courtyard.
The structure will replace a grassy lawn in front of the School of Engineering’s East Hall. Local architecture firms Baskervill and Smith McClane Architects are designing the building in collaboration with Boston-based Goody Clancy. Kjellstrom & Lee is the general contractor.
The project was included in a $2.43 billion bond package adopted as part of the current state budget, with $43 million allocated for it. The rest of the $92 million project will be covered by VCU and the School of Engineering Foundation. Local tobacco giant Altria donated an additional $1 million.
The project is scheduled to be complete in 2020.
Before then, the engineering school will get another new facility. A few blocks east, the school is working to convert the former Grubbs’ Auto Service at 12 W. Cary St. into a machine shop.
Rendering of the planned engineering facility. (VCU)
VCU broke ground on the $93 million facility on Tuesday. (Mike Platania)
The northeast corner of Cary and Belvidere streets is about to look a bit different, as work is underway on a multimillion-dollar research building for VCU’s School of Engineering.
The university broke ground on the four-story, 133,000-square-foot building at a ceremony Tuesday. VCU President Michael Rao and engineering dean Barbara Boyan were joined by Mayor Levar Stoney at the event.
In lieu of traditional classrooms, the $93 million building will house research labs, career services and faculty offices, and a 9,000-square-foot “Innovation Maker Facility” – an experiential learning space equipped with a 3-D printer and other tools. The building also will have a glass pavilion and outdoor courtyard.
The structure will replace a grassy lawn in front of the School of Engineering’s East Hall. Local architecture firms Baskervill and Smith McClane Architects are designing the building in collaboration with Boston-based Goody Clancy. Kjellstrom & Lee is the general contractor.
The project was included in a $2.43 billion bond package adopted as part of the current state budget, with $43 million allocated for it. The rest of the $92 million project will be covered by VCU and the School of Engineering Foundation. Local tobacco giant Altria donated an additional $1 million.
The project is scheduled to be complete in 2020.
Before then, the engineering school will get another new facility. A few blocks east, the school is working to convert the former Grubbs’ Auto Service at 12 W. Cary St. into a machine shop.
Rendering of the planned engineering facility. (VCU)
Wow! Normally these renderings leave me flat, but if this building looks anything like the rendering, it will completely transform that intersection. Go VCU!