Undergraduate students will have an additional place to study and attend classes next semester with the opening of VCU’s newest building, 500 Academic Centre.
The 33,432 square foot building, renovated from the former Ukrop’s at 500 Harrison St., will house six classrooms, study space and some of James Branch Cabell Library’s books in storage according to the VCU Public Relations Department.
“It was a real opportunity to get space that was easy to convert close to campus, and close enough for people to be able to walk to it and utilize it,” said Ed Bennett, executive director of VCU Physical Plant.
The biggest reason for the new center is VCU’s need for more classroom space.
“Our classroom utilization period is really high from 8 (a.m.) to 10 (p.m.),” Bennett said.
High classroom usage means that currently, VCU has very little ability to close a building or a classroom for renovations or emergencies without disrupting classes. The university has very little “surge capacity,” Bennett said.
Bennett said that unlike many of VCU’s older buildings – where the rooms weren’t originally intended to function as classrooms – the space in 500 Academic Centre is being built as functioning classrooms. “They’ll have more of a classroom feel,” he said.
The new building’s six classrooms will each hold between 50 and 85 students, alleviating the heavy classroom usage in university buildings in general. The Academic Centre’s commons area will also seat up to 50 people, providing more study space on campus.
Harrison Street will also be the new home for many of Cabell Library’s lesser-used used books and periodicals in controlled-environment storage. This will create space in Cabell for other, more pressing uses, Bennett said. VCU’s Physical Plant will also use the building for extra storage of recycling containers and other materials.
Renovations to turn the former Ukrop’s into a classroom, study and storage space began shortly after the property’s purchase on July 1.
“We’re doing the best we can to make it not look like a supermarket by changing the facade just a little bit,” Bennett stated.
Metal panels on the outside of the building have been removed, the entrance is being updated with a canopy and benches and landscaping outside will make the building more attractive, said Pamela Lepley, director of communications and public relations at VCU.
The renovation costs are approximately $3.2 million, and the price to purchase the property was about $9 million, according to Bennett.
He said the Centre is going to be in place “for quite a while.”
“There’s always the potential that we might build something bigger someday, but I don’t think that that’s anywhere close on the horizon quite yet. That would be one of our motivations for desiring the property. We’re going to use it as-is for now and it’s going to benefit us greatly.”
The 500 Academic Centre will be marked as “500AC” on the eServices schedule for students who have classes in the new building.