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June 15, 2006 -- University of Virginia officials provided
interested community members with an update of current
and future building projects during a community briefing
in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom on Tuesday, June 13.
More than 80 people heard extensive reports from Richard A. Kovatch, associate
vice president for operations, and University architect David J. Neuman
during the session, which was sponsored by the Office of Community Relations.
Kovatch focused on John Paul Jones Arena while Neuman described 15 projects
that are either under way or in the planning stages on the U.Va. Grounds.
In his opening remarks, Neuman acknowledged that the question of growth
is a sensitive topic since it inevitably raises a variety of issues from
increased traffic to questions of resources.
"We have to see this as part of the tradeoff of being in a city like
Charlottesville with an institution of the quality and with the aspirations
of the University of Virginia," Neuman said. "Part of my responsibility
is to try to mitigate the impacts of the growth — or to create a
positive impact — on your daily lives."
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Photo by Dan Addison |
David Neuman |
Noting that he is often asked why universities always
seem to grow, Neuman said it is a simple matter of demographics.
As the commonwealth continues
to grow, he added, demand for higher education — especially at
the premier institution of higher education in the commonwealth — will
also grow.
Since an agreement between the University and the Virginia legislature
has mandated the enrollment of an additional 100 students, most of them
undergraduates, each year over the next 10 years, Neuman said, the University
must absorb between 1,000 and 1,500 more students. Those additional students
require additional facilities.
Referring to plans to add an additional 100,000 square feet of classroom
space through the South Lawn Project, Neuman said that the intent of that
project is not to create a monument.
"The need for this additional space is real. It is related first and
foremost to the number of people here — students and faculty, the
core of the institution — and to their ability to perform their tasks
of learning and conducting research," Neuman said. "One of
the missions of the public university or of any institution of higher
education
of significance is to do research. That is an obligation now and has
been modified to include the economic development of the state or region
that
the institution is in.
"If you are going to be creative, if you are going to follow your
muse and learn on your own and with others, it requires state-of-the-art
facilities. We have to provide these more technical, more sophisticated
spaces."
Neuman said that sustainability is one of the points of emphasis in current
planning. That means not only finding better, cleaner ways of burning fuel
but also building energy savings into new projects.
"This is not just U.Va.'s issue or Charlottesville's issue," he
said of sustainability. "It's everybody's issue."
Kovatch gave a status report on John Paul Jones Arena, which is nearing
completion with the opening event, Cirque Du Soleil's "Delerium," scheduled
for August 1. Plans currently call for the arena to host up to 100 event
dates during its first year, including U.Va. men's and women's basketball
games. Kovatch said that 84 event dates have already been scheduled for
the first year.
"Many people have wondered why we can't release a list of all the
events that have been booked, but the promoters with whom we work to schedule
these events control the release of that information and the ticket pricing," he
noted. "We are trying to appeal to a cross section of the community
with a wide variety of formats. To date, sales have been strong for those
events that have begun selling tickets. Clearly it is not just a matter
of the new arena that is drawing people but the quality and variety of
events."
One of the major concerns Kovatch cited is planning for traffic and parking.
The goal, he said, is for everyone to have a positive experience both inside
and outside the arena. Parking and traffic plans have been developed based
on projected attendance at specific events. The parking plans include spaces
being constructed at the new arena but also spaces at University Hall and
the Emmet-Ivy Garage.
Kovatch said that while no one expects the parking and traffic plan to
be perfect from day one, the processes will be continually evaluated.
"It is hard to believe that three years have gone by since the ground-breaking
for the arena," he said. "Though we've had many trials and
tribulations along the way, the project continues to be on schedule and
on budget. Our
arena will be second to none."
Ida Lee Wootten, director of community relations at the University, moderated
the community briefing, which included a question and answer period. |
