University of Virginia issued the following announcement on July 22
If you’ve been past the corner of Emmet Street and Ivy Road in recent weeks, you may have noticed some new activity.
That’s because the University of Virginia is beginning a phase of work designed to transform the area into a new gateway to the University and form deeper connections with the community.
Known as the Ivy Corridor, the four-block long piece of University property stretches from the Ivy-Emmet intersection westward to Copeley Road.
Ultimately, the 14.5-acre parcel will be home to a new, state-of-the-art hotel and conference center, the School of Data Science, the Karsh Institute of Democracy and future academic and arts facilities.
The present work along Ivy Road is called the “public realm phase,” Architect for the University Alice Raucher said.
Among the first buildings on the site will be the School of Data Science, foreground right, and the hotel and conference center, wrapped around the existing Ivy-Emmet Garage.
“The public realm phase includes the widening of sidewalks and the planting of the tree lawns along Ivy Road; we are also terracing the steep incline on the south side of Ivy Road as it goes up to the International Residential College,” she said. “There will also be dedicated bike lanes in both directions on Ivy Road and new bus stops.”
Raucher said all the work is being done in accordance with Charlottesville’s city standards. “All of this is about making improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists and the use of public transportation,” she said. The public realm phase will take about 12 months.
UVA is also beginning construction of the first home of the School of Data Science this fall, work that is expected to take 24 months.
In the winter of 2022, construction will begin on the hotel and conference center, a process that also is expected to take two years.
“Given the public nature of this program, we have invited broad participation. The director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, for instance, participates on our steering committee for the hotel and conference center,” Raucher said. “We understand that this hotel and conference center is not just for the University, but also for the larger region.”
The hotel and convention center will house a visitors’ center where people can not only learn about the University, but “understand what is happening in the city and the county, too,” Raucher said.
Original source can be found here.
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