Plans for dealing with parking problems on the Medical Center Campus include a new seven-floor parking deck at Eighth and Duvall streets. The site planned for the deck is be6hind Cabaniss Hall and now occupied by a physical plant.
Brian Ohlinger, associate vice president for facilities management, said the building will be demolished to make way for the parking deck.
The deck, which is in the planning stages, will hold about 1,000 parking spaces and is estimated to cost $13.2 million. The parking facility will have a ground level and six floors above it with its main entrance and exit on Eighth Street.
Site development for the deck will begin in June or July and construction will begin in August.
Officials estimate the deck’s completion by August 2006 if the development begins on schedule, Ohlinger said.
Diane Reynolds, director of the business services department, said plans for the new parking facility resulted from a traffic study that showed the need for an additional 1,000 parking spaces.
Ashley Hall, MCV SGA co-vice president of philanthropy, agreed with Reynolds about parking needs as a major issue on the medical campus.
“The number one complaint of students is that there’s nowhere to park,” she said. Hall, a third year medical student, said she rides the bus.
Geoffrey Young, associate dean for student affairs for MCV, called parking a challenge for any urban campus and he expects the new deck to alleviate parking demands on the Medical Center Campus.
VCU officials said once construction gets under way, detours and changes in traffic patterns could disrupt the typical traffic flow in that area.
Henry Rhone, vice provost for student affairs and enrollment services, said with all constructions come related inconveniences for some people regardless of where or when it happens.
“For a little inconvenience I think we get some great benefits over the long run,” he said.