UVA’s governing body to review second Data Science building, coal plant replacement

The University of Virginia Board of Visitors returns to Charlottesville this week for a two-day meeting plus an additional day spent in a retreat. That includes the Buildings and Ground Committee which will review several projects including schematic design for a new heating plant that will allow UVA to phase out the use of coal. (meetings info)

The consent agenda consists of approval of a new process to procure capital projects and a request to demolish a building purchased by the UVA in 1977 as part of a larger purchase or property on Ivy Mountain.

“The former University Police building at 2304 Ivy Road was constructed in the early 1950s as a diner named the White Surrey Restaurant, reads the staff report. “Renovated for office use, the facility served as the headquarters of the Department of Safety and Security, with occasional improvements, until late 2025.”

That’s when the department moved to a renovated Zehmer Hall.

The building is being demolished because the foundation is leaking and this has led to structural issues. The cost to repair has been determined to not be worth it.

“Once the building is removed, the site will be graded to address the elevation differences between the front and back of the building and planted with a meadow mix,” the report concludes.

The first action item is approval of a schematic design for a second building in the Emmet Ivy corridor for the School of Data Science. The University of Virginia Foundation slowly purchased land along Ivy Road over the years before undergoing a planning initiative overseen by a task force.

“Guided by five principles of purpose, the task force identified three nexuses to inform the redevelopment of Ivy Road corridor: Creativity and Experimental Arts, Discovery, and Democracy,” reads the staff report.

The first School of Data Science building anchors the “Discovery” Nexus and the new building is “envisioned to create a new interdisciplinary computational research environment within a state-of-the-art facility.”

Part of the $77 million cost is being covered by a $20 million grant from the Quantitative Foundation announced in December 2024. The project was added to the Major Capital Plan last June and the design guidelines were approved in September.

The second action item is approval of the schematic design of a new heat plant to eventually allow UVA to phase out the occasional use of coal. The work on the $38 million project will be phased over multiple heating seasons.

“The outcome of this work will eliminate the continuity of operation risk associated with coal sourcing, delivery, and combustion; reduce carbon and sulfur emissions; decrease operating and fuel cost by more than $2.2M annually (resulting in an anticipated return on investment in 17 years); and avoid capital costs associated with replacement of coal conveying equipment,” reads the staff report.

Previous coverage:

• UVA continues to use coal as a backup to Charlottesville gas, September 27, 2022
• University of Virginia planning to phase out coal plant, March 12, 2025

The third action item is approval of the FY2027 Major Capital Plan. The Buildings and Grounds got a preliminary look in March as I reported at the time More on one of those projects in the next story.

Some other highlights from other committee meetings:

• The Academic and Student Life Committee will vote on a resolution to rescind a previous decision in March 2025 to discontinue the Masters of the Arts program in Chemistry. The department “has reconsidered its request and opted to retain the M.A. program to preserve the ability to provide different pathways for master’s degrees in the future.”
• The Finance Committee will review the financial plans for an expansion of the Fontaine Data Center, two projects at the UVA Medical Center, and the Center for the Arts. More on the latter in the next newsletter. (learn more in the packet)
• The full Board of Visitors will have a retreat on Saturday at Morven with sessions on “Accountability and Aligned Governance” and “Affordability and Accessibility” and “Athletic Competitiveness” and “Advancing Patient Care and Saving Lives. Parts of this are open to the public but it will not be live-streamed.

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