BOV Building and Grounds Committee discusses additions to the Capital Plan – The Cavalier Daily

The Buildings and Land Committee met on Thursday afternoon to approve construction projects, designation and an addition to its capital plan, and to hear feedback from an advisory group. For the first time since 2019, the meeting took place in person in the rotunda.

The committee’s plans for a 223,000-square-foot hotel and conference center on Ivy Road were approved last March and have just received a new addition. The conference center will host visiting professors, alumni, and other university visitors, and at 10,000 square feet will also include the largest meeting room in Charlottesville. The project is expected to cost $ 130.5 million.

Alice Raucher, architect of the university, presented an additional “food and drink offer on the roof”, which will offer “incredibly impressive views” of the university and a social space. The committee approved the amendment to the plan.

The committee also voted to approve the concept location, design guidelines, and name for the new Karsh Institute of Democracy, which was announced last June. The institute was made possible through a $ 50 million donation from Martha and Bruce Karsh, which the university combined with a $ 50 million commitment to meet the $ 100 million budget for this project.

The Karshes are both alumni of the university and founded of the Faculty of Law Karsh Center for Law and Democracy in 2018 with a $ 50 million gift. The Karsh family also supports the School of Law through a foundation of a Scholarship program and the Kennedy Professorship.

“The Karshes are longstanding and generous supporters of the university, especially the law school,” said university president Jim Ryan. “[The gift is] Both should enable us to build the building and the funding programs together. ”

The Institute for Democracy acts as a kind of “umbrella organization” for the democracy initiatives of organizations like the Center for Politics, The Democracy initiative, the Sorensen Institute and the Miller Center. The institute will be built next to the new conference center on Ivy Road.

The committee’s second name proposal was also adopted. The McIntire School of Commerce’s new academic facility – located across from Rouss and Robertson Halls – is named Shumway Hall in honor of alumnus Chris W. Shumway. Shumway is a longtime university donor and sponsor of the McIntire School of Commerce, Virginia Athletics, who U.Va. Funds and the Former association.

The committee then voted on an amendment for 2021 Large capital plan, a breakdown of the university’s budget allocation for facility design and construction. They approved the renovation and expansion of the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital, an inpatient facility that cares for patients after life-changing injuries or illnesses such as stroke and spinal cord injuries. The renovation includes converting the 50 semi-private rooms into 60 private rooms.

Advisors Peter Wallace and Linda Conrad from HKA – the firm selected by the committee in February to evaluate the cost and execution of large capital projects at the university versus peer institutions – presented an assessment and recommendations. The presentation identified change requests – changes to approved construction plans – as a key area for improvement in the committee’s efforts to limit unnecessary project costs. In order to limit change requests, the consultants recommended that the committee establish strict guidelines as to when a change request is acceptable.

The written report distributed to members for the meeting also included an update on sustainability – including the governor’s executive order to get rid of the single-use plastics – a progress report on heritage preservation, and annual construction agency support, which were not discussed during the meeting.

According to the sustainability report, the university is well on the way to stopping the consumption of single-use plastic. For four months representatives from U.Va. Dine, UVA Health, Procurement, Athletics, Facility Management, the U.Va. The bookstore, alumni association, faculty, students, and others who contributed to an Executive Order 77 working group prioritize minimization – reducing the need for single-use items.

“UV is well positioned to respond to EO77 as UVA’s 2030 Sustainability Plan includes the goal of reducing UVA’s waste footprint by 70 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels – in other words, reducing the footprint of 2010 to 30 percent, ”says the report. “In addition, UVA has been working for over 10 years to reduce single-use plastics and increase the diversion of landfills through composting.”