Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Assistant News Editor
VCU students, faculty and staff met with Richmond City Councilor Katherine Jordan and other community members at an event on Wednesday to discuss growth, affordability and how VCU’s student housing needs fit into Richmond’s greater development plans.
The “Democracy in Dialogue” forum was held by political science associate professor Amanda Wintersiek, director of the Institute for Democratic Empowerment and Pluralism, and Doug Sprei, director of the College Debate and Discourse Alliance.
Students delved into contradictions between VCU’s growing student body, lack of affordable housing and its investments in new construction — while other speakers emphasized the need for students to engage in civic life and advocate for their position in the city’s development.
Students and Richmonders share housing struggles
Since the closure of Johnson Hall due to a mold infestation in 2021, VCU has reworked its housing offerings in order to fit all students who want to live on campus. Some residential units originally meant to house two students now house four students.
VCU has also continuously bought swaths of property between its Monroe Park and MCV campuses, as outlined in the ONE VCU Master Plan.
Richmonders do not see themselves reflected in the university’s branding despite VCU’s large physical footprint in the city, one attendee, third-year political science student Emma Coffey, said. They feel they have been wronged by the school, according to Coffey, who noted the responsibility of engaging with the city also falls on students.
“You shouldn’t have students isolating themselves either…” Coffey said. “They’re engaged with the Black and Gold, but they’re not actually engaged with Richmond itself. They couldn’t tell me what the symbol is on the Richmond flag.”
Much of the event’s conversation revolved around the Richmond 300 Plan, which seeks to guide Richmond’s physical changes as its population nears 300,000 residents, and ensure the needs of existing residents, cheaper rent and better city services, are kept up with.
The city’s main tool to achieve this is changing its zoning code to redefine what kinds of buildings it allows developers to build, and in which areas, to allow for taller and closer construction.
Coffey is from the area and has not lived in VCU student housing, largely because of affordability.
“I’m barely affording tuition, I’m barely affording a parking pass every semester, how am I gonna afford VCU or even off-campus housing?” Coffey said.
Prioritizing student housing
Jackson Mallory is a criminal justice and political science student, as well as a research fellow with IDEP. He supports Richmond’s zoning plan, and said densifying Broad Street and other areas to allow for taller apartment complexes could aid Richmonders being priced out.
Mallory does not think the student housing problem is from a lack of funds on VCU’s part, and gave the example of the funds converting the Founder’s Hall at Residential Life and Housing — not into dorms, but office space.
“The issue is where their values lie,” Mallory said. “It’s not about the money they’ve received, they’ve received plenty of money from 29,000 students that go there. They keep raising our tuition, and keep raising Michael Rao’s salary.”
Most of the room concurred with Mallory’s latter comment.
Jordan is the city councilmember for Richmond’s second district, which encompasses much of campus and the inner Fan neighborhood north of Main Street. She stressed the responsibility to accommodate students falls mostly on the school.
While Jordan said she is unfamiliar with the specifics of the university’s governance, she questions the VCU’s seeming priority of other projects over housing construction and maintenance.
“VCU is constantly buying up property within the city … What I call demolition by neglect, they buy properties thinking they’ll do something with it in the future, let it fall down, it’s dangerous and now we have to demolish it,” Jordan said.
Multiple students at the event spoke to the quality of certain residence halls as an issue — in particular, the students who have to sleep in rooms modeled out of former common areas at Gladding Residence Center, and in smaller rooms at Rhoads Hall, according to a previous report by The CT.
Councilor Jordan shared her own experience of living in a converted janitor’s closet during her first year at the University of Virginia, and implored students to speak up at Board of Visitors meetings or to the school paper.
VCU’s untaxable land leaves Richmond low on cash
Discussion shifted to the large amount of untaxable, publicly owned land within Richmond’s city limits, including VCU. Property taxes are a large part of how the city pays for services, which are key to supporting a growing population.
Jordan told The CT she believes the school’s PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, to the city does not do enough to make up for its footprint. She does support Richmond’s broader efforts to enable affordable housing construction in spite of limitations.
“I think this is an all-hands-on-deck situation where the city is trying to take on the rezoning to streamline the building process in general, and encourage the increased development of housing where it’s most appropriate,” Jordan said. “But equally we need our partners at the university to step up and help provide housing for their students as well.” Jordan said.
Veranda Cobbs, a manager for VCU’s Division of Community Engagement, said the school does address its relationship with the city, and she personally talks with different neighborhoods about communication between them and VCU’s students and faculty.
She stressed the importance of students talking with other Richmonders and getting involved themselves to discuss issues such as housing.
Students can provide their input at the VCU Division of Community Engagement’s CONNECT Conference on Nov. 14 at the Student Commons.
CORRECTION: City Councilor Katherine Jordan reached out to The CT to clarify that her living space at the University of Virginia was a literal converted janitor’s closet. A quote by Jordan about VCU purchasing city property has also been shortened for clarity.