On March 26, 2004 a construction worker tossed a used cigarette away on the job site at 933 W. Broad St. Hours later, fire had damaged much of the area on the 900 block of W. Broad St. and destroyed months of construction work.
On Jan. 15 – after 295 days and much hard work – Ramz Hall opened its doors to both incoming students and mixed feelings.
Ramotalai Coker, a sophomore pre-dental hygiene major, said the apartment was sufficient, but not desirable.
“It’s okay – it’s livable. It’s small, but it’s livable,” Coker said. “I think it’s not worth the price.”
She said that housing representatives told her the building and amenities would be comparable to Ackell Residence Center, but she found the arrangement to be lacking in several areas.
“We don’t have the things they (Ackell) have – we have to provide lighting for ourselves, we have to pay for parking – we don’t have half the space they have.”
Colena Olsen echoed Coker’s sentiments, saying that the building failed to live up to expectations.
“It’s just way too small,” Olsen said. “I’d rather live here than Capital Garage – but I’d rather live in an Ackell two-bedroom than this two-bedroom.”
Larry Mewborn, a senior sports management major, said that even though the living arrangements were small, he liked Ramz Hall so far.
“It’s not as big as Ackell or Broad and Belvidere, but I guess it’s suitable.”
From the perspective of space, Ramz Hall is smaller than both Ackell Residence Center and Broad and Belvidere Apartments – Ackell is the largest of the three, providing 740 square feet of space for a two-bedroom arrangement, while Broad and Belvidere provides 684 square feet and Ramz Hall 653 square feet.
The prices tend to correspond, with the current rates for a 12-month lease for a two-bedroom unit in Ackell costing $6,504 and the same package in Broad and Belvidere costing $6,504.
The problem is, that with less space Ramz Hall residents are still paying the same price as Broad and Belvidere residents for a two-bedroom unit. In addition to the space, students in Broad and Belvidere also get certain amenities that Ramz Hall lacks such as a dishwasher, washer and dryer set, computer lab and a game area.
Rachel Maddux, interim director of residential life and housing division of student affairs and enrollment services, explained that part of the problem is the fact that Ramz Hall is being leased from a private developer andit’s harder for the university to control the prices.
“We (VCU) try to absorb as much of the cost as we can without running at a deficit,” she said. “But our first priority is to find on campus – or as close to on campus as possible – housing for our upperclass students.”
Prices and size aren’t the only complaints students have about the new building. Ramz Hall is set up in such a way that a lone elevator is the only way to access anything above the first floor unless there’s an emergency.
In the case of an emergency, or if the elevator breaks down – like it did during the move-in schedule – security can open the stairwells at either end of the building for student use.
Brian Ohlinger, associate vice president of facilities management, said that having one elevator is typical for a building the size of Ramz Hall.
Some students still have worries though.
Coker, the Monday before classes started, said that the elevator breaking down earlier in the day concerned her.
“Classes start tomorrow,” she said, “and I don’t know how that’s going to work because the elevator broke down earlier today.”
Even when the elevators work properly, some students said the time it takes getting up and down is a problem.
Mewborn, who lives on the second floor, said it takes him more than five minutes, including the wait, to get downstairs and eight minutes to come back up. Since even the second floor is only accessible by elevator the stairs aren’t an option, students said.
“You’ve got to leave probably 10 to 15 minutes earlier than you wanted to,” he said.
Maddux said she understood students’ complaints about the elevator, but explained the reason the stairs currently aren’t accessible is because of safety.
“The students are right there on Broad St.,” she said. “We have to keep the safety of the students in mind.”
She said that over the next few months Hunter Rauscher, security coordinator, and Jane Firer, Ramz Hall complex manager, will look at the plausibility and safety of putting in stairwell access for residents.
“We are aware that it is a slow elevator,” Maddux said. “And I want students to feel like we are there for them.”