UNR has started construction on its parking garage on 9th Street, near Evans Park. I took a walk this morning to shoot some pics, and looks like they were setting up a 'media day' for the groundbreaking. Why wait for the news to report it? Here are some photos of the construction site. They are digging deep.
I'm still pissed that a neighborhood of Victorian homes was demolished for this project, but on the bright side, at least the now-vacant lot won't sit empty for years.
The project itself has been very polarizing for the community, with historians and residents upset about both the parking garage and skyway that was approved, and business leaders and community leaders happy about the progression of UNR into the downtown area.
Pics and renderings below.
Yeah, I'm still upset that they didn't at least go for the proposal to move the houses across the street to the park. That would've been the perfect use and compromise for a park that is honestly barely utilized. On the other hand, I'm glad to see this moving along quickly and I really hope they do a good job designing the new business building and rest of the gateway. A walkable, mixed use district would be the perfect gateway to the campus from downtown, particularly with all the new student housing going in. I wish they could've somehow also encouraged the RTC to use eminent domain on the other side of Virginia between 8th and 9th St. Getting all the worn down hotels on the east side was a huge step, but that whole block badly needs to be revitalized.