New plans for on-campus housing were approved by Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors on Wednesday as the university looks to increase beds after a Student Life Village plan was scrapped last year.
That includes the accelerated renovation of existing dorms and the construction of new ones, considered a priority for the university.
Officials were planning to build a sizable village, but after planning it for three years, the board decided to pursue smaller projects.
That includes new dormitories to include 1,200 beds, to be located between the Inn at Virginia Tech and the Duck Pond. And renovations of the existing Campbell, Hoge, Pritchard and Slusher halls will be completed in phases over the next nine years, according to the university’s schedule. The cost stands at over $400 million, with the Hoge and Pritchard projects still to be priced.
Slusher Hall, built in 1972, was among two other aging on-campus residential facilities (Hoge and Pritchard Halls) that were previously approved to go under renovations. The amended resolution approved Wednesday removed plans to add 130 beds to Slusher, concluding that while technically achievable, the project would be “cost prohibitive” and “will negatively impact” the construction schedule, according to board documents.
The economics of renovating the taller Slusher building has prompted debate.
“Well, you run into a snag, like on the Slusher (Hall) that we’re gonna redo, and you’ve got a load bear issue that we’ve got to address,” said board member and Facilities and Administration Committee Chairwoman Jeanne Stosser. A re-evaluation of the hall concluded that conventional vertical expansion was not feasible because, in part, “existing foundation system cannot support additional loads in current configuration,” according to board documents.
“It just takes a long time to get it done and get everything in the order,” said Stosser of all the housing projects.
Over the past several years, the increasing university enrollment beyond 30,000 undergraduate students ignited issues between the school and the town of Blacksburg over the pressure that was creating, particularly with off-campus housing.
On Wednesday, Blacksburg Mayor Michael Sutphin said the town is supportive of Virginia Tech increasing student housing on campus.
“We have been supportive for quite a while,” he said, adding that the town encourages the board of visitors to meet housing needs proportionally as enrollment increases.
“When you increase undergraduate enrollment in a college town like Blacksburg, where something like two-thirds of the population is college students, that creates stress on housing, but also, traffic, infrastructure, recreation spaces that we have in town, all sorts of different things,” said Sutphin.
During meetings this week, the board heard of trends, which include continued strong application numbers for the university while officials are keeping an eye on an expected enrollment drop in the coming years across the country.
The board on Wednesday also approved a resolution to scale back its Living Learning Community programs, as the university plans to attract more students by tailoring its offering more closely with student demands and lowering operating costs and auxiliary funding by 50%. That will lower the average costs per student, according to board documents.
The program provides on-campus living opportunities for first-year students in the transition to college, and according to board documents, the LLC program is in high demand, receiving over 4,400 program applications in 2025. In the program, students live together in certain residence halls based on interests such as majors, as well as shared identities and interests.
There was discussion of cutting the entire program amid debate over diversity, equity and inclusion issues — but the board later decided not to do away with it.
Three programs will be exempted from changes — the Casa Maderni program in Switzerland, the Corps of Cadets, and the Honor Colleges residential program.
