The Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee met Thursday to discuss and approve revisions to the Major Capital Plan for 2025. The new plan is estimated to cost $2.15 billion, which is over $40 million more than the current plan.
The Major Capital Plan is a multi-year plan under the supervision of Colette Sheehy, senior vice president for operations and state government relations, that is revised annually to add and prioritize projects that align with the strategies of each University institution who requested the project and supports the University’s long-term goals. University schools and units propose a request for additional projects to the capital plan, which the Buildings and Grounds Committee reviews.
One of the projects approved Thursday was the authorization of a mail order and specialty pharmacy expansion at North Fork Research Park. The $5.9 million project would accommodate an automation prescription filling line for mail order medications and prescriptions that require special storage.
North Fork is a University-owned discovery park north of U.S. 29 near the Charlottesville airport and Hollymead, which houses various science and technology firms, academic institutions and the University Specialty Pharmacy. The University leases workspace at the park to both private-sector businesses and University-run operations.
The Committee also approved the design for a satellite clinical lab at North Fork, the planning of which will cost $2 million.
Some concerns were raised during the meeting about the expansion of employment far north of Central Grounds and whether future employees would be willing to work in Hollymead rather than closer to the University or central Charlottesville. Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the park is a high-growth area and a great place to live due to its cost of living, which she expects will help support future recruitment.
“[North Fork] has been an attractor for us for recruiting and retaining talent,” Davis said. “It's also part of that big master plan up at North Fork where we're looking at ‘live, work, learn,’ so we're also doing housing in this area.”
Sheehy said projects currently under construction make up over half of the $2 billion capital plan’s value, and that these projects will be completed by the end of 2025. Some of the soon to be completed projects include the Olympic Sports Center, which will feature a performance training center and academic support for athletes, and the Center for Politics, which began construction last spring to expand space at North Grounds to host more classes and events.
Proposed additions the Committee discussed but did not vote on included a main heat plant fuel conversion, a $38 million construction project which would allow the University and Medical Center to stop using coal as a backup source of fuel due to its high cost. The proposal would involve relying on burning oil five percent of the time and natural gas the other 95 percent.
The Committee also discussed a new School of Data Science and Entrepreneurship Building adjacent to the school’s current building on the Emmett Ivy Corridor, which would cost $77 million and begin mid-2027.
Committee member Douglas Wetmore said during the meeting that there is a rule that projects need to pay for themselves on an operating basis, such as healthcare services and food services. He said during the process of review of new projects, the Committee needs a reminder of both the capital expense and the cost of the ongoing operation.
“We obviously want to keep an eye on as you put these new facilities up, what's going to be the ongoing financial burden that goes to the Finance Committee,” Wetmore said.
The Committee also approved four namings of buildings during their meeting, which were the Guerrant Drive and Hetherington Drive at Fontaine Research Park, the Carl Smith Way and Whitehead Road, the Harrison Family Olympic Sports Center and the Jeffrey Cudlip Memorial Court, located at the Virginia Tennis Complex at Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Committee is scheduled to reconvene at the next Board meeting in June.
Read More
Academic and Student Life Committee discusses undergraduate experience survey
By Grace Little | 1 hours agoBrie Gertler, deputy provost and senior vice provost for academic affairs, presented data from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Survey.
Finance Committee reviews data center, approves transfer of Guesthouse hotel
By Zackary Holt | 2 hours agoThe Finance Committee reviews and approves the annual budget, setting of tuition rates and the investment of the endowment.
Committee on the College at Wise discusses housing, academic life
By Brandon Kile | 7 hours agoThe College at Wise currently enrolls nearly two thousand students.
