South Lawn Project passes funding milestone

More than 20 pledges to the South Lawn Project have allowed architects to begin drafting detailed drawings of the 300,000-square-foot ensemble of buildings that will provide new homes for 10 of the 26 academic departments in Arts & Sciences.

Bridging Jefferson Park Avenue south of Old Cabell Hall, the South Lawn Project is a joint effort of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, the College Foundation and Arts & Sciences leaders to create desperately needed classrooms, offices and community spaces for the College.  When complete, the project will effectively double the amount of space in the outmoded New Cabell Hall, which it will replace with up-to-date facilities capable of serving more than 12,000 students a day.

The architects began the schematic drawings that define the buildings’ locations and appearance when the College Foundation met its first fundraising goal set by the Board of Visitors. By April the group had raised one third of the $61.2 million in private money required for the project’s first phase. More than $18 million came from Foundation Trustees. The Foundation must raise an additional $25 million before December 2005 to break ground. During that 18-month period, project architects Polshek Partnership of New York City will progress to final construction drawings.

The project’s first phase includes the buildings south of Jefferson Park Avenue and a landscaped terrace that will span JPA. This spring, refinements to the plans appeared as frequently as twice a week. The evolving design convinced University and Foundation leaders to align the new buildings with the central axis of Jefferson’s Lawn and along a perpendicular axis that leads to the Medical Center. The site’s boundary will expand east to Brandon Avenue. The Board of Visitors is expected to review the schematic drawings this fall.