Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
Veronica Garabelli// October 14, 2013//
Virginia Commonwealth University’s James Branch Cabell Library is gearing up for a major expansion.
The more than 40-year-old Monroe Park Campus library will add 93,000 square feet of new space and improve an additional 63,000 square feet of existing space, the university announced Monday. The $50.8 million project is set to begin next March and should be completed by September 2015.
Cabell Library opened with two stories in 1970 and was built to serve 17,000 students. It grew to its current size in 1975 and now serves a campus of 32,000. According to VCU, Cabell Library is the busiest academic library in Virginia. From 2012-13 it served more than two million visitors.
New additions will include an entranceway facing Shafer Court, glass facades revealing interior activity and expanded space for Cabell’s Special Collections and Archives.
The building's design is targeting a LEED silver certification. The library will remain open during construction.
