Scheduled for completion before next fall, new dorms will be located on the upper levels of a new parking deck at Belvidere and Cary streets.
To accommodate a record enrollment of
more than 31,000 students this year, VCU is
working to construct three campus housing
projects.
“Five years ago, the university housed
2,400 students on campus. VCU now houses
4,700 students,” said Brian Ohlinger, assistant
vice president of facilities management.
A dorm capable of housing 408 students
will be located on Belvidere Street, south of
the new business and engineering buildings,
Ohlinger said. Another plan is to demolish
Franklin Street Gym and replace it with
upscale housing. Construction on a third
housing project will take place on Grace
Street behind Ramz Hall, located on West
Broad Street.
The university expects to have 6,000 total
beds within three to four years.
“The housing growth will keep up with
the university’s enrollment growth,” Ohlinger
said.
Some students have mixed feelings about
the prospect of more housing on an already
dense campus.
Hamere Mekonnen, a 21-year-old senior,
said VCU should get its priorities straight.
“We should not concern ourselves with
having flat-screen TVs everywhere, and we
should get another dorm,” Mekonnen said,
referring to the rise in the number of TVs
on campus.
Resident assistant Darryl Greene, 22, said
VCU’s open-door policy contributes to the
housing crunch.
“I think we’re accepting way too many
people,” Greene said.
Reuban Rodriguez, dean of student affairs,
said although VCU did not over-enroll this
year, the university accepted 200 more
students than its target of 15,000.
Many factors play a role in VCU’s increasing
enrollment, Rodriguez said. One factor is the
retention rate of current students.
“The biggest rate is seen in freshmen
continuing into their second year as
sophomores,” Rodriguez said.
Students who stay at an institution for
their first two years will likely continue
for the rest of their degree, Rodriguez
said.
Another factor is VCU’s targeted
enrollment increase. The business and
engineering complexes under construction
will house two new schools that have
programs specifically targeted to increase
enrollment, Rodriguez said.
According to Ohlinger, the buildings
jointly will increase enrollment by about
3,000 students.
However, “the growth from the
engineering and business buildings will
be a gradual growth,” Ohlinger said.