Walking by the James W. Black Music Center on the corner of Harrison Street and Grove Avenue, the signs of change are everywhere: Chain link fences adorned with warning signs surround the back half of the center, and blue tarps cover the back side of the building.
With the renovations to the music center moving out of the design phase, VCU approved an additional $1.7 million
in supplemental funding to begin construction.
Brian Ohlinger, associate vice president of facilities management, said the university approved the additional funding in late April, allowing renovations to move forward. Changes to the building include 14 individual and 8 group practice rooms.
Ohlinger said funding delays resulted in an extension of the project’s deadline.
“We thought we would finish it in December of 2007, and now it’s going to be summer of 2008 because of a delay in getting supplemental funding of $1.7 million that we needed to award the contract,” Ohlinger said.
The contract was awarded to Prestige Construction Group, whose president, Kenny Jones, is a VCU graduate, according to Ohlinger.
The renovations also include a music library, one large room for jazz and small ensemble classes, two labs for keyboard skills and music theory, and 12 faculty offices.
The two buildings added onto the original structure, which was formerly the Grove Avenue Baptist Church, will be demolished. Ohlinger said the two additional structures had been added sometime after the building’s construction in 1910 and had been used as classrooms and administrative offices.
Because the center is housed in a building of historical significance, VCU consulted the Virginia Department of Historic Resources while planning the renovations.
“They have to concur with the demolitions, as well as the replacement design, so that process was done more than a year ago,” Ohlinger said.
Curt Blankenship, manager of the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall at VCU, stressed that while the school will gain new facilities, it will not gain any space.
“To speak of a ‘new addition’ makes it sound as though there will be some type of gain,” said Blankenship in an e-mail. “The music department will gain to be sure, with nicely renovated, well organized, and accommodating facilities, but not with additional square footage.”
While many students are excited about the renovations, some say the process has not been smooth.
Steven Ralph, a sophomore in the music department, said having to perform in the business building located near the student commons is one problem.
“It’s not awful, though it is more nerve-racking than the performing arts center, where we have time to chill and get it together before going on stage,” Ralph said.
Ralph said the lack of a backstage area in the business auditorium was one of the main problems of performing there.
“At the business building there is one auditorium, and when it’s time to go on, you have to walk through the audience,” Ralph said.
Joeseph Ateah, a senior in the music department, said closing the music center for renovations has caused problems for students.
“All the practice rooms are super small this year, and it is very hard to get one because all the students are grabbing for these small practice spaces,” Ateah said. “They aren’t available for us readily as they were with the music building.”
Aaron Kunk, a junior music education major, said the squeeze doesn’t outweigh the long-term benefits of a renovated space.
“I’m glad it’s happening; it’s way overdue,” Kunk said. “When I first came here, that building was still in use. It was in terrible condition. There were holes in the walls and pianos with keys missing.”