(08-17-2018 04:08 PM)jmufan2008 Wrote:  

(08-17-2018 10:10 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(08-16-2018 01:50 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Was walking/jogging through campus last night. Wondered how much longer the Village has. I could maybe see JMU building the second residence hall next to the one being constructed right now (as shown in the master plan), but beyond that I don't think there are many new residence hall sites to begin. Stands to reason the Village build would follow, but it's a mammoth price tag on prime land where existing buildings are cash cows. Gonna have to bite the bullet sometime.

I think this is correct. The new dorm (and perhaps it pairing match) must be built and available before the Village area can begin it's rebuild. JMU (for the past 20+ years) has been involved in a near constant "build a swing-space, relocate, tear-down/renovate/build new, move back from the swing-space into the new facility, wash, rinse and repeat." It's been exhausting, but what is emerging is an even more beautiful and functional campus serving 25k+ students, faculty and staff. All alums should be very proud of their degrees. If JMU was a stock, it's a blue-chip buy.

The Village (and portions of the old ballpark) will undergo a dramatic transformation starting in the next few years, but it's a big project that will take multiple years to complete. I can't forecast whether the "new" Village that triples (quadruples?) capacity of the old Village will be the last tear-down/renovation/addition to the inventory of on-campus dorm space, but I think it will be approaching the final phase.

Outside of completing the new COB project, Carrier Library is due a major expansion, and there's a major new Health discipline building planned (to sit next to the recent building opened on MLK Way). There's also some major projects on front campus (at the intersection of Main and Grace) that may require significant private fundraising (in particular a museum built on the footprint of Anthony-Seeger). All-in-all, there's enough construction to keep things hopping for the next decade, but I think enrollment growth will soon plateau and the fevered pace of construction will abate.

Museum? Art, history, or something else? Would love to hear details if you want to PM me.

The project isn’t a secret, and the details are still being discussed, but on the updated JMU Master Plan it’s identifed as a “Design Museum”...terminology that I think is (perhaps) a slight of hand effort to deflect possible criticism that an “art” museum isn’t necessary. That said, it’s an art museum, meant to provide a home to the Madison Art Collection (some 16,000 items), and coordinate with new facilities to serve the applied design majors in Graphics, Industrial and Architecture.