Blacksburg town leaders on Thursday penned a letter of concern about potential changes to planned student housing at Virginia Tech.
When the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors meets next week, it is poised to vote on a resolution that would reverse years of planning for a new Student Life Village intended to replace old Slusher Hall at the heart of campus.
The Student Life Village is a $19.5 million plan, according to university documents. The university spent about $4 million on planning and other costs related to the project over several years.
A concept drawing shows the intended scope of phase one for a Student Life Village at Virginia Tech. A final version of the village could include up to 5,000 beds, university officials said previously.
“The Board of Visitors desires to rescind the Board’s actions of November 13, 2022, adopting the 2022 Student Life Village Master Plan,” the resolution reads. “The Board of Visitors desires to reconsider the decision to demolish Slusher Hall.”
Student Life Village plans is a major project approved in 2022 that includes 1,750 new beds to help meet housing demand as enrollment grows. The growth – more than 5,500 additional students over the past 10 years – is what the Blacksburg Town Council is concerned about, according to a letter to the board of visitors signed by Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith.
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“Virginia Tech’s growth in the past 10 years… has put tremendous strain on Town resources and exacerbated housing scarcity,” the letter reads. “The Town took on more than its fair share of the burden of that growth by approving 5,396 beds of new off-campus student housing that have been constructed.”
A letter from town officials in Blacksburg discusses concerns about student housing plans at Virginia Tech. The university is poised to amend plans for a Student Life Village that was meant to meet housing demand amid increasing enrollment.
Virginia Tech cannot continue to grow unless it provides necessary student infrastructure on campus, particularly housing, the letter reads.
“Eliminating the Student Life Village undermines the collaborative effort between Town officials and Virginia Tech administrators to address the effects of Virginia Tech growth,” the letter reads. “If the Board of Visitors removes the Student Life Village from the Campus Master Plan, the University must freeze undergraduate enrollment until a plan is in place to house additional undergraduate students on-campus.”
In an email Thursday, university spokesman Mark Owczarski said that “our relationship with the Town of Blacksburg is invaluable.”
Opportunities and challenges, including on student housing, are being identified through the region’s Partnership for Progress, according to the university statement. That partnership is the framework for an agreement between Virginia Tech and neighboring localities to create a shared future roadmap, .
“Virginia Tech remains deeply committed to working with our local and regional partners to identify solutions beneficial to all,” according to the statement.
The new village construction has been planned to replace the 1972-built Slusher Hall, which flooded in 2022. The university spent $7.5 million repairing that flood damage in 2023.
University documents at that time said there were no plans to upgrade, refurbish or renovate Slusher Hall. But the resolution that will be voted on next week suggests a change.
“Slusher Hall will not be demolished but instead will be renovated,” the resolution reads. “On or before the August 2025 meeting of the Board of Visitors, the university shall present to the Board a plan for the renovation of Slusher Hall.”
The resolution does not provide any detailed reasoning for the seemingly sudden change. University officials will likely discuss the matter in more depth before their vote next week.
