Virginia authorizes funding for VCU to purchase Altria Center for Research and Technology

By Brian McNeill

The 2027-29 state budget approved Monday by the General Assembly includes funding for Virginia Commonwealth University to acquire the 450,000-square-foot Altria Center for Research and Technology, located adjacent to VCU's university medical center campus. Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign the budget imminently, ahead of the new fiscal year on July 1.

"The commonwealth's investment in the Altria Center for Research and Technology is a vital step in advancing Virginia's health and innovation economy," said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. "This facility represents a strategic solution that provides the modern infrastructure essential for the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Pharmacy, School of Public Health and the larger university enterprise to advance VCU's unified mission of education and life-saving research. These expanded student and faculty learning and research capabilities will help to ensure that our caregivers and researchers are equipped to meet the evolving health needs of all Virginians."

The nine-story Altria facility, located at 601 E. Jackson St., features state-of-the-art research space, including wet labs, as well as academic space for VCU's new School of Public Health and School of Pharmacy, which consistently ranks among the top 20 pharmacy schools in the United States.

Importantly, it will provide modern research space for the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center - space that is needed for Massey to remain competitive for maintaining its comprehensive designation from the National Cancer Institute, a status that unlocks federal funding, information-sharing and resources, and enables Massey to launch life-saving clinical trials and attract the best doctors and researchers to Virginia. To remain competitive for its comprehensive re-designation, Massey must identify 50,000 square feet of additional modern research space.

"We are grateful to the General Assembly for allowing VCU to move forward with the acquisition of the Altria Center for Research and Technology," said Monica L. Baskin, Ph.D., interim director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Our mission is to save lives and reduce the cancer burden for all Virginians. The procurement of this new space will enable Massey researchers and staff to utilize cutting-edge lab facilities that will allow us to rapidly translate discoveries into life-saving therapies, continue building an unparalleled bench of researchers who will lead future clinical breakthroughs, and deliver the critical space needed to remain competitive in maintaining our comprehensive status -- the National Cancer Institute's highest recognition."

By purchasing the Altria Center rather than building new, VCU will save a significant amount of time and money. VCU estimates that constructing a new facility would cost over three times as much and would take an additional five to nine years before it could be fully operational.

As a top 50 public research institution with more than $560 million in sponsored research funding, VCU views the Altria facility as integral to plans to accelerate growth in research across the health sciences, said Meredith Weiss, Ph.D., senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer.

"Acquiring the Altria Center for Research and Technology is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for VCU," Weiss said. "It provides the specialized research infrastructure we need immediately to support the growth of the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, while creating a platform to accelerate health sciences research across the university for decades to come. This investment will attract exceptional research talent and funding to the commonwealth, accelerate discoveries that improve and save lives, and strengthen VCU's ability to educate and train the healthcare workforce needed to create a healthier Virginia."

VCU research and the university's cutting-edge health sciences programs are limited by old facilities that are beyond their useful life and ill-equipped to accommodate transdisciplinary teaching and research. By acquiring the Altria Center for Research and Technology, VCU will be able to move forward with the replacement of older buildings and reduce deferred maintenance.

Acquisition of the facility will also directly support VCU's efforts to meet Virginia's growing demand for healthcare workers and scientists.

For VCU's School of Pharmacy, which has launched the careers of thousands of scientists and health professionals, it will provide a modern facility to bring transdisciplinary teaching and research under one roof. The school offers master's, doctoral and postgraduate programs, a pharmacy technician training program and, its newest offering, the B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences program, which has been built with the needs of the region's burgeoning pharmaceutical industry in mind.

"While we've long been at the forefront of drug discovery, development and delivery through our research enterprise, the modern research and teaching space this new facility offers is essential to advancing new therapies, pharmaceutical innovations, and breakthroughs in disease prevention and treatment - ultimately improving medication accessibility for patients across Virginia and beyond," said Kelechi "K.C." Ogbonna, Pharm.D., dean of the VCU School of Pharmacy. "This space will support the students in our growing programs, who will gain stable careers that allow them to change lives for the better while meeting the workforce demands of the expanding pharmaceutical industry here in Central Virginia."

Monica Swahn, Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Public Health - which was established in 2023 and brought together the departments of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Policy, and Social and Behavioral Sciences under a unified focus on public and population health - said that with the launch of new programs, current academic space is expected to be at capacity and the Altria Center would help advance the school's mission to improve health, well-being and longevity for all populations through education, discovery, dissemination and co-learning with the communities VCU serves.

"We are committed to expanding our programs and training more public health leaders for the rapidly changing world," Swahn said. "By purchasing the Altria Center, VCU will be better suited to meet the needs of our students, faculty and researchers, as well as the communities we serve in and around Richmond."

VCU expects the facility will help attract top talent and strengthen Richmond as an international destination of choice for pharmaceutical innovations, as evidenced by recent industry expansions in Virginia. VCU is the only university in the United States that has a doctoral program focused on pharmaceutical engineering.

According to a March 2026 economic impact report, VCU added $7.8 billion in income to the Richmond Metro Area economy in FY 2023-24, or 6.9% of the regional total gross regional product. VCU supported 80,728 jobs, or one out of every 12 jobs in the metropolitan region. Statewide, VCU's economic impact is $18.5 billion, with 95,707 jobs supported, according to the report. The Altria Center will enable the university to continue building on this economic impact.

The state budget also includes funding for VCU to construct a new School of Dentistry building.