Official: Old labs won't cut it at VCU: West Hospital again at center of debate on downtown plan

Feb. 21--Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin said VCU must modernize so it can keep luring top faculty and students.

Sentiments to preserve historic Richmond buildings such as Virginia Commonwealth University's West Hospital clashed last night with the health and biotech communities' need to modernize.

Dr. Sheldon M. Retchin, chief executive officer of the VCU Health System, told about 50 people at a planning meeting on the draft Downtown Master Plan that the school must modernize so it can continue luring top faculty and students. VCU's plans to demolish the old, art deco-style West Hospital have been criticized in the draft master plan.

"We can't attract them to old labs, old offices," Retchin said of top-flight candidates, adding that the medical school is competing with the likes of Johns Hopkins University and Duke University.

Retchin said VCU Medical Center is "dedicated not only to make a stand [in downtown Richmond] but to flourish," though he added that other medical schools in other cities have moved or faced possible closure because they felt constrained or were no longer viable.

David Herring, interim executive director and co-founder of the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, said no one disputes that VCU is an integral part of the community. But he said the West Hospital is an iconic building that's worth saving.

"It's sort of Richmond's Empire State Building," he said. "I think what people are looking for is a compromise."

Leighton Powell, executive director of Scenic Virginia, agreed. She suggested that the city and VCU explore swapping the city's public safety building for the old hospital.

That brought a polite protest from Robert T. Skunda, president and chief executive officer of the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, who said his center has its eyes on the public safety building.

"We are just now reaching the point where we can go out and compete" with such cities as Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, he said. "We really need maximum flexibility."

Last night's meeting was the final in a series of neighborhood-level sessions on the draft master plan, which also aims to make Richmond a more pedestrian-friendly city and calls for additional parkland along the James River, including land now in private hands.

The city's Planning Commission last month told its consultant to soften some of the language, particularly relating to VCU and riverfront development.

An excerpt from the revised draft handed out at last night's meeting showed some language had changed; whether it reflects a kinder, gentler tone is open to interpretation. Where the original draft had called on VCU, the state and the city to work together to save West Hospital, the latest version recommends the entities work together to explore options as part of "an open, transparent process."

Brooke Hardin, a city planner, said he expects the commission will make additional changes.

City planning officials will hold a March 12 session on a zoning method put forth in the draft plan. The commission is expected to consider approval this spring before forwarding the plan to the City Council.

Contact Kiran Krishnamurthy at (804) 649-6810 or kkrishnamurthy@timesdispatch.com

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