January 31, 2018

MEMORANDUM

TO: The Buildings and Grounds Committee:

Whittington W. Clement, Chair

Robert D. Hardie, Vice Chair

Mark T. Bowles

Elizabeth M. Cranwell

Barbara J. Fried

John G. Macfarlane III

James B. Murray Jr.

James V. Reyes

Bryanna F. Miller, Student Member

Frank M. Conner III, Ex-officio

and

The Remaining Members of the Board:

Robert M. Blue Babur B. Lateef, M.D.

L.D. Britt, M.D. Tammy S. Murphy

Thomas A. DePasquale Jeffrey C. Walker

John A. Griffin Margaret F. Riley, Faculty Member

Maurice A. Jones

FROM: Susan G. Harris

SUBJECT: Minutes of the Meeting of the Buildings and Grounds Committee on January 31, 2018

The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia met, in Open Session, at 1:58 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, 2018, in Ednam Hall at the Boar’s Head Inn. Whittington W. Clement, Chair, presided.

Present: Frank M. Conner III, Robert D. Hardie, Mark T. Bowles, Elizabeth M. Cranwell, Barbara J. Fried, James B. Murray Jr., and Bryanna F. Miller

Absent: John G. Macfarlane III and James V. Reyes

Margaret F. Riley also was present.

Present as well were Teresa A. Sullivan, Patrick D. Hogan, Thomas C. Katsouleas, Richard P. Shannon, M.D., Jonathan D. Bowen, Susan G. Harris, David W. Martel, Debra D. Rinker, Pamela H. Sellers, Colette Sheehy, and Alice J. Raucher.

Mr. Clement opened the meeting. After brief remarks, he gave the floor to Ms. Sheehy. Ms. Sheehy began with an explanation of the scope of the Carr’s Hill Rehabilitation project. She said the project will focus on the main house and its adjacent structures. The construction of a building to replace the tent base has been deferred.

Softball Stadium

Ms. Sheehy said the initial agenda for the committee’s December meeting included approval of the concept, site, and design guidelines for a stadium located at Lambeth Field. The committee deferred this action given issues raised by students, faculty, and neighbors. Since the December meeting, a steering committee has worked with the architects to identify alternative sites. Town hall meetings also were held to listen to concerns of stakeholders and constituents. Ms. Sheehy said that because of this effort, the University removed Lambeth Field from consideration, and Ms. Raucher is reviewing alternative sites, which are:

1. Perry Field

2. The parking lot at SE corner of the intersection of Massie and Copeley Roads

3. The practice soccer field at SW corner at the intersection of Massie and Copeley Roads

4. A site at the south end of The Park

5. The softball field on Massie Road opposite the Darden School

6. A site on Massie Road opposite the Faulkner Residences

7. The existing softball stadium site at The Park

8. The NW corner of the intersection of Massie and Copeley Roads

9. The Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center

10. The parking lot at the NE corner of the intersection of Stadium and Alderman Roads

The three most promising sites are the parking lot at the southeast corner of the Massie/Copeley Road intersection, the practice soccer field at the southwest corner of the Massie/Copeley intersection, and the site at the south end of The Park.

The vice rector said the Lambeth Field stadium proposal showed the importance of this field for recreation and intramurals and asked the University to consider its mid-term and long-term uses. The rector said the exercise highlighted the limited amount of open space on Central Grounds and suggested the University consider replacement space when proposing projects that take away open space. The rector and vice chair asked for a review of the athletics program before selecting a site for the softball stadium to ensure the proposed site fits into a long term plan.

Ms. Sheehy thanked community members for their input.

Hospitality Task Force Report

Mr. Hogan said the hospitality task force began its work in September with the assistance of two consultants. The Weldon Cooper Center conducted a survey assessing the University’s demand for conference and meeting space and conference planning services. JLL Consulting assessed hospitality assets and marketing opportunities. The scope of its study of the Charlottesville market included the Health System’s needs, the Inn at Darden, a new Cavalier Inn, the Boar’s Head Inn, and the Colonnade Club. The Task Force had its final meeting last week and made recommendations for conference spaces and for hospitality assets. The conference space recommendations were:

1. Meet the need for up to 35,000 square feet of modern, flexible conference meeting space sufficient to accommodate 350-500 participants, contiguous to a new Cavalier Inn.

2. Meeting spaces should include a plenary room/ballroom, as well as alternative and flexible meeting spaces.

3. Create a robust, centralized event sales and planning operation to provide a streamlined services solution for faculty, staff, and external clients hosting events on Grounds.

The recommendations for hospitality assets were:

1. Colonnade Club: No recommended changes in its operating model or management.

2. Boar’s Head Inn: Continue the phased renovation plan and operation by the UVA Foundation. May want to consider how to ensure an appropriate mix of guest room accommodations in the Phase II upgrades.

3. Inn at Darden: Replace with a full service hotel with up to 225 rooms and 12,000 square feet of conference/meeting spaces.

4. New Cavalier Inn: Build up to 300 rooms and up to 35,000 square feet of conference/meeting spaces.

5. Operational synergies: Consider shared management services for the Inn at Darden and the new Cavalier Inn.

The Task Force also recommended the establishment of a Health System task force to develop a plan for the hospitality needs of patients and their families at a location adjacent to the Health System. The task force should develop short- and long-term recommendations and consider temporary arrangements with existing University or area hotels.

The recommended next steps were:

• Complete additional analysis necessary to finalize optimum number of rooms and amount of conference space for the new Cavalier Inn and Inn at Darden.

• Develop a financing model considering philanthropy, debt, and the possibility of a public-private partnership.

• Work with the Buildings & Grounds Committee to ensure parking and other project aspects are considered along with needs of other capital projects slated for the Ivy-Emmet corridor, such as a museum and performing arts center.

• Coordinate with the Building & Grounds Committee on various approvals related to site planning, architectural design, and financial model.

At the request of the chair, the committee passed a motion accepting the recommendations.

Ivy Corridor Land-Use Suitability Study

Ms. Raucher said stakeholder discussions with University constituents, the Alumni Association, the City of Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia Foundation identified a number of programmatic needs for consideration during the development of the Ivy Corridor.

1. Flexible academic spaces that promote interdisciplinary collaboration

2. Flexible student lounge and meeting spaces across Grounds

3. Rehearsal and performance spaces

4. Combined university museums and art studies spaces

She reviewed the approved Corridor Framework Plan, which designates nine to twelve building parcels, a street network, a pedestrian circulation network, greenspaces, and a stormwater management system. She presented diagrams illustrating potential uses for the building parcels.

The building parcels at the east end of the corridor have a Central Grounds orientation and would be good for academic programs, Parcels adjacent to the parking garage and the railroad tracks at the west end of the corridor would be good for uses such as hospitality, residential, and collaborative work space. Parcels at the west end of the corridor with an orientation towards the streets, the neighborhood, and the athletics complex would be good for cultural, residential, and mixed uses. Given the size of its footprint, Ms. Raucher said only three parcels could accommodate a performance hall that seated 1,300 to 1,500 people.

Ms. Raucher reviewed five land use scenarios that provided site options for a performing arts center, an art museum, an academic facility, a hospitality facility, and a mixed use facility housing a visitor center, an IT Center, and university administration. She reviewed the proposed site selection criteria: 1) program fit; 2) parking and service access needs; 3) positive adjacencies among programs; 4) optimization of connection to green space; and 5) timing of funding or construction. The presentation concluded with a review of next steps, which included a stacking and massing study for hospitality and convening space, and concept, site, and design guidelines for hospitality and convening space, the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, art museums/arts programs, and a performing arts center.

Committee discussion focused on the selection process for the approval of programs and their sites, possible programs, and related planning efforts.

The chair proposed four guiding principles for the program selection process:

1. The applicant’s current space needs or limitations.

2. The degree of collaboration, shared space, or synergy a program would bring.

3. How the program would improve interconnectivity between North Grounds and Central Grounds.

4. Funding feasibility.

The rector said the Ivy Corridor is the University’s most valuable property. The University should determine the programs most suitable for its most prominent building parcels and not just rely on a site selection process.

During the discussion of potential programs, support was voiced for a performing arts center, an art museum housing the Fralin Museum of Art and Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, and a hotel. It was noted that all three need close proximity to parking. Ms. Sullivan suggested consideration be given to a new music department building. It would be an opportunity to address the department’s space needs and allow it to take advantage of rehearsal space in the performing arts center. The performing arts center and museum should be located in close proximity because they share clientele and are closely linked programs. Relocating the music department would also free up space on the Lawn.

Mr. Katsouleas supported the Batten School as a candidate for the corridor because its programs provide a natural intellectual connection between the North and Central Grounds. He spoke in favor of using the corridor to create a ‘confederation of democracy and public service centers,’ such as the Law School’s Center for Democracy and Law. He said another potential candidate was the iLab facility, which was interested in relocating to a more central location. There was some discussion about whether or not the Batten School should take priority over other uses for this corridor.

The chair asked about the feasibility of collaborative space. Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Hogan said the University’s track record on collaborative space is not good, but Ms. Sullivan said it is getting better now and pointed to OpenGrounds as an example of a collaborative space that is doing well. While neither the Miller Center nor Center for Politics want to abandon their current facilities, they both needed larger lecture spaces. The Sorensen Institute and the Weldon Cooper Center would welcome new space.

The committee members stressed the need for a master plan of the adjacent athletics complex and for backfill plans for spaces vacated by programs moving to the corridor. The discussion ended with an agreement that Land Use Scenario 2, which places the hotel on the building site along Emmet Street, should not be pursued further.

- - - - - - - - -

The chair adjourned the meeting at 3:50 p.m.

SGH:wtl

These minutes have been posted to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors website: http://www.virginia.edu/bov/buildingsgroundsminutes.html