The Board of Visitors (BOV) revisited the Vision 2020, The Comprehensive Campus Master Plan to add plans for constructing two wings to ARC Residence Hall, an expansion of the lumber yard at Lancer Park, as well as the construction of a new residence hall across from ARC Residence Hall, according to the BOV meeting minutes from Sept. 13 and 14.
Vice President of Facilities Management and Real Property, Richard Bratcher, said that the two additional wings to ARC Residence Hall will provide an additional 485 beds to students.
For the new residence hall, Bratcher said that it will house 200 students. The new residence hall will include a quad area and will house primarily sophomore class students.
Bratcher said, “Until the design is complete, it is difficult to say exactly what it will look like. On the other hand, it will architecturally strongly reflect the traditional Jeffersonian/Neo- Palladian architectural styles prevalent on the campus. It will be Longwood.”
According to Ken Copeland, the vice president for Administration and Finance, Longwood University is still coming up with preliminary ideas for the new construction, and no cost estimates have been made yet for the construction. He went on to add that the University only plans to build one new residence hall in the next two to three years.
The additional residential space at ARC will aid in the vision to help Longwood University remain a residential community. With the largest freshman class ever of 1,115 students coming in at the beginning of this semester, it has now, more than ever, prompted Longwood to plan for more on-campus housing for students.
According to Bratcher, the goal of the campus master plan is to create space for about 2,000 students to live on campus. So, a new residence hall is vital in order to reach this goal because of the closing of French Hall as a residence hall and the anticipated closing of the Cunningham Residence Halls.
Concerning the plans for a new acquisition of the former lumber yard by the Real Estate Foundation, this will include a new retail and residential space for the university. This space will be later used to provide valuable transitional space during other renovations, and afterwards it will become the space for Facilities Management & Real Property.
Copeland reported that the lumber yard will act as a transitional space during the upcoming construction to Willet Gym. He added that there is no imminent construction planned for the lumber yard and that there are no estimates yet for the cost, but that it will definitely be used as an alternative space.
Bratcher said, “The primary impacts revolve around inconveniencing people in moving around that campus and construction noise impact to people housed in adjacent buildings.”
With all this construction on and off campus, there is bound to be some level of impact on mobility and functionality of the campus and the community.
Knowing about the future campus impact, Longwood University assembled a special administrative committee called the Campus Impact Committee.
The main purpose of this special committee is to study the potential impacts of construction projects and plan to alleviate those impacts as much as possible.
The Vision 2020 Plan was initially approved in 2008 by Longwood President Dr. Patricia P. Cormier.
Plans began in 2006 by Bratcher and the Manager of Space Planning and Real Property, Louise Waller, according to the Facilities Management & Real Property Management web page of the Longwood University website.
The goal of the Vision 2020 Plan is to increase enrollment to 5,600 undergraduate students by the year 2020, according to the Facilities Management & Real Property Management web page of the Longwood University website.
This Campus Master Plan involves changes to Longwood’s physical space, facility needs and infrastructure, including demolishing the Cunningham Residence Halls to construct the University Center, constructing a Performing Arts Center, enhancing the infrastructure of Hill Springs Farm and more.
Longwood University has spent a figure of $170 million of construction on campus since 1996, according to the BOV minutes from Sept. 13 and 14.
Bratcher said, “A huge part of the Longwood experience is being a part of a strong academic community. A thriving, vibrant residential community within the bounds of the campus is an integral part of that experience. It’s all about being immersed in a learning experience and not just going to class. As a result, it is extremely important that Longwood maintains a reasonable number of student residences on main campus.”
