VCU President Eugene P. Trani’s former
residence at 4700 Charmian Road was
sold recently for about $1.8 million by
the organizations – the VCU Foundation
and the MCV Foundation – that owned
the house.
The nonprofit foundations had bought
the seven- bedroom brick colonial in the
1970s to function as the official residence
for VCU’s president, as well as serve as
a place to entertain university faculty,
staff and guests.
Paul Jez, associate vice president for
business services, emphasized the Trani
family is not homeless.
“(Trani) is not out on the street,”
Jez said.
The Tranis bought a house in the
Founders Bridge subdivision in Chester-
field County and have been living there
for almost two years now, he said.
One reason Trani wanted to move
was because the house was no longer
needed to entertain, Jez said. Unlike
other universities, VCU’s presidential
residence was located off campus – about
four miles away in the Westmoreland
Farms neighborhood, which was inconvenient
for holding events for guests
and faculty.
VCU now has on-campus facilities,
such as the recently expanded University
Student Commons and the newly
renovated Scott House, that serve the
same purpose, said Tom Burke, executive
director of the VCU Foundation.
Burke said buying the Charmian Road
house was a good idea at the time.
“We needed it when we did it, but
I’m not sure it’s needed anymore, since
we have some nice facilities on campus,”
Burke said.
The house also was no longer needed
because Trani and his wife, Lois, wanted
to buy a home. Even though official
residences are the norm for university
presidents, Burke said, more presidents
are looking to buy so they can build
equity in personal property.
The Tranis also wanted to buy their
own property to prepare for Trani’s
retirement in 2010, Jez said. Living in
the former residence was a condition
of the president’s
contract, he said,
but the condition
was no longer
valid when Trani
decided not to renew
his contract.
The university
has not named a
replacement for
Trani. Burke said
the foundations
are not currently
looking into buying
a residence for Trani’s successor.
The former residence was on the
market for about eight months before its
sale in June. Burke said the three-story
home originally was for sale for about
$2.3 million before it sold to a family
for $1.8 million. The profits will be split
evenly between the two foundations.
Trani did not receive any payment from
the sale.
Although the house was bought three
decades ago for about $170,000, Burke
said, the foundations will probably not
make a significant profit from the house’s
sale. This is because the foundations,
using private gifts, paid the costs to
buy, furnish and maintain the house,
he said.
Jez said no student tuition, fees or
state funding were diverted in any way
to the property.
Proceeds from the home’s sale will be
used to benefit the university and health
system in an as-yet-unannounced way.
Burke said he hopes to spend the money
on scholarships.
“Helping students – that’s what we’re
here for,” he said.