Virginia Commonwealth University’s VCU Health broke ground June 22 on the largest capital construction project in its history, a $349.2 million outpatient facility on the university’s Richmond campus that, upon completion in the summer of 2020, will consolidate most of the VCU Massey Cancer Center’s outpatient services within 16 stories and 603,000 sf.
This space is intended to become a hub for comprehensive outpatient healthcare. It will include on-site lab services, medical imaging, women’s services, and rehabilitation services for physical, occupational, and speech therapies. VCU Health’s outpatient orthopedics, pulmonary and urology, will also relocate to the new building, which will feature a dedicated tower for ambulatory oncology care. VCU Massey Cancer Center will have its own entrance, lobby, elevators, clinics, radiation and infusion treatment areas, patient resource spaces, and valet and self-parking areas.
The outpatient facility—which will be on the site once occupied by the Virginia Treatment Center for Children—will include a 472,000-sf parking deck for more than 1,000 vehicles. (The Treatment Center for Children will relocate to the Children’s Hospital at VCU’s Brook Road campus.)
“The oncology tower will be the new hub for most of our cancer services downtown,” says Gordon Ginder, M.D., director of VCU Massey Cancer Center. “Our goal is to create a welcoming, healing environment with easier access, improved patient flow and soothing aesthetics.”
Sandy Tkacz, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, health principal with HDR, the project’s designer, notes that the ambulatory tower “will not only allow patients to have all of these services integrated in the same location for easy navigation, but also change the Richmond skyline and the face of the city.”
The groundbreaking ceremony for VCU Health's new outpatient facility included (from left) George Emerson, a member of VCU Health System Authority Board of Directors; Gordon Ginder, M.D., director of VCU Massey Cancer Center; Marsha Rappley, M.D., CEO of VCU Health System Authority and vice president of health sciences at VCU; Michael Rao, Ph.D, president of Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health System; Deborah Davis, CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics and vice president for clincal affairs at VCU; Peter Buckley, M.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health; Harry R. Thalhimer, MCV Foundation chairman of the board; and Larry Little, vice president of support services and planning, VCU Health System. Image; VCU
HDR and Hourigan Construction are design-build partners on the project’s Building Team that also includes Ventana, which will design, manufacture, and install the building’s exterior wall systems, whose skin will consist of punched openings, flat curtainwall, saw-toothed curtainwall, and glass guardrails.
VCU is definitely in expansion mode right now. In May, the university, in joint venture with Sheltering Arms Hospital, began construction on a 200,000-sf, $119 million Rehab Institute within 25 acres of the West Creek Medical Park that will have 114 beds when it opens in 2020. (Hourigan Construction and HDR are working together on this project, too.) Earlier this month, the university broke ground on a $93 million 133,000-sf Engineering Research Building, whose design will emphasize collaboration. (Richmond-based architecture firms Baskervill and Smith McClane Architects, and Boston-based firm Goody Clancy, designed this facility. Washington, D.C.-based Page/SST Planners designed the lab spaces.)
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Dec 16, 2020
Download a PDF of all 2020 Giants 400 Rankings
This 70-page PDF features AEC firm rankings across 51 building sectors, disciplines, and specialty services.
University Buildings | Dec 13, 2020
U. of Oregon’s new Knight Campus is set up to turn ideas into reality
Its design encourages occupant productivity and well-being.
Giants 400 | Dec 3, 2020
2020 Science & Technology Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the S+T sector
HDR, Jacobs, and Turner head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2020 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 2, 2020
2020 University Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the higher education sector
Gensler, AECOM, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest university sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2020 Giants 400 Report.
University Buildings | Nov 25, 2020
Stanford bioresearch quad's new public art piece, “Morphogenesis”
Stanford University's Morphogenesis installation connects user interaction with a large-scale media mesh platform.
University Buildings | Nov 20, 2020
Why precast concrete is an appealing choice for student housing
A variety of material solutions are emerging to accelerate construction timelines, and precast concrete has become an attractive option.
Laboratories | Nov 16, 2020
Washington State University’s new Plant Sciences Building opens
LMN Architects designed the project.
AEC Tech | Nov 12, 2020
The Weekly show: Nvidia's Omniverse, AI for construction scheduling, COVID-19 signage
BD+C editors speak with experts from ALICE Technologies, Build Group, Hastings Architecture, Nvidia, and Woods Bagot on the November 12 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
University Buildings | Nov 5, 2020
BIG selected to design new Student Center for Johns Hopkins University
The new center will become the heart of the university’s campus.
Smart Buildings | Oct 26, 2020
World’s first smart building assessment and rating program released
The SPIRE Smart Building Program will help building owners and operators make better investment decisions, improve tenant satisfaction, and increase asset value.
