Virginia Union is ready to upgrade its athletic facilities as a part of a 10-year plan to reshape the look of the entire university.
VUU unveiled a 10-year, $500 million master plan that calls for a new football stadium and basketball arena as a part of a plan that includes new student housing and residential facilities on campus.
“When we look at everything that’s happening in Richmond, particularly the crescendo-ing of the Scott’s Addition developments, the question becomes not just about where will people work and live in Richmond, but how do you also live, learn, and begin to love Richmond and what will it be known for,” VUU president Hakim J. Lucas told Jonathan Spiers of Richmond Biz Sense.
The university worked with design firms Hanbury, EDSA, VHB, and Affiliate Engineers on the plan, which calls for the development of Richmond’s Northside as well as opportunities for public-private partnerships with Richmond city government, investors, and developers.
“This is obviously not going to happen in a day or a year. This is a long-term plan that’s going to take a lot of collaboration and partnership and vision to bring it to fruition,” Hanbury’s Elizabeth Morgan says, “but in the near term, look at how we can right-size and reshuffle some of the current spaces, reinvest in some of the current facilities on campus and look for opportunities as we look at scaling up enrollment.”
Lucas believes that this master plan can play a pivotal role in not just the growth of the University but one of Richmond’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods.
“As the oldest African-American-owned, continuously run nonprofit, and as an anchor institution for this side of Northside, we have what we feel is a historic responsibility to try to drive the economic community development of this side of town,” he said.
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