VCU is preparing for two major construction projects on the MCV campus.
Why it matters: Consider this your first warning for future traffic headaches around VCU Medical Center and a changing Richmond skyline.
State of play: First up is the demolition of VCU’s Larrick Student Center on Turpin Street between 9th and 10th streets to make way for a new School of Dentistry building, per VCU.
- The center is slated to close at the end of the year and come down in the spring.
- That will be immediately followed by construction of VCU’s new five-story, 312,000-square-foot dentistry building, running through 2029.
Next up: VCU’s proposed inpatient tower at Leigh and 12th streets, which is still in the planning stages but “critically needed” by VCU Medical Center, per the school.
- The tower could rise to up to 16 stories, per the latest reports, and will replace the hospital’s parking deck, which closed this spring, and VCU’s Health Sciences Library, which will relocate its collection next year.
Meanwhile, as part of the broader campus shuffling, MCV’s bookstore, Starbucks and grab-and-go dining will close and its fitness and student centers will move to smaller, temporary facilities in the coming months…