Both students and Blacksburg locals can expect construction to become a common sight in the coming years.
These new projects respond to the growing and changing needs of the university community, yet there is no doubt that they come at a cost.
Tech, as well as other universities across the state, has experienced heavy budget cuts.
Here is an overview of the some of the construction projects that you may see going on during your years at Tech.
PARKING GARAGE
The first project scheduled to be completed is the $26 million Perry Street parking garage, located in Perry Street lot off Prices Fork Road.
“It’s very far along, but there’s still a lot to be done,” said Richard McCoy, parking services manager. “We do not have a set opening date yet but we look forward to opening in early fall.”
Though the garage eliminated many parking spots in the lot, it will provide almost 1,200 new ones. Despite the inconveniences caused by the ongoing construction and loss of parking spaces, the addition of new spaces will outweigh the losses, according to project manager David Chinn.
However, these will only be commuter and faculty/staff spots. There will be no residential spots in the new garage.
“I’m sure people are mad that we’ve lost some spaces, but you’re gaining an awful lot of spaces back,” Chinn said.
No residential spots were lost in the Perry Street lot during construction.
The project recently reached an important milestone. The concrete structural form of the building is complete, and workers began to add Hokie Stone to the exterior of the building.
Parking pass prices will rise for the upcoming school year to help cover part of the cost of the new building. Student parking fees will now be set to $189 for the 2010-11 year, up from this year’s price of $136.
Faculty parking fees will rise from $179 in 2009-10 to $220 in 2010-11.
Efforts have also been made to make the structure more sustainable. Though LED lighting was not a part of the original plans, it has since been incorporated into the design.
Solar panels will go on the roof of the structure to help power these lights.
MAIN STREET IMPROVEMENTS
Another major project that will impact both the town and the university is the Main Street Improvement Project.
The project will affect the stretch of North Main Street from College Avenue to Kabrich Street. It will reduce the road from two lanes in both directions to one lane in both directions, widen and brick the sidewalks, and install shade trees and decorative lighting to match the rest of downtown. The intersection of Main Street and Prices Fork Road will also be replaced with a roundabout.
With a total cost estimated at $11.2 million, construction on the project is expected to take at least two years.
“Visually it will look better, and traffic flow will be better. It will be a suitable entrance for Virginia Tech’s Performing Arts Center,” said Leslie Hager-Smith, a Blacksburg Town Council member.
However, some are concerned that the two years’ worth of construction and the end result of a reduction in lanes will hurt businesses downtown, as well as worsen traffic congestion.
The project is intended to make the street more amenable to pedestrians and integrated with the rest of downtown.
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The new Center of the Arts building will be located at the intersection of North Main Street and Alumni Mall.
The building will have three main features: a 1,300 seat performance hall, a section of visual art galleries, and a Center for Creative Technologies in the Arts.
It will include new sections as well as renovated sections of Shultz Hall.
Shultz Dining Hall will close to accommodate the Center for the Arts, but a new dining hall between Randolph Hall and ICTAS will open shortly after.
The center, with its expected completion set for 2013, will be located at the intersection of Alumni Mall and Main Street.
It is the centerpiece of the town’s plans to expand the downtown area up North Main Street toward Prices Fork Road. It will be working in tandem with the $11 million street improvement plan that would create a safer environment for pedestrians through traffic changes and sidewalk expansion.
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