Construction is well underway on one of the most ambitious projects in the history of Virginia Commonwealth University.
The CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation (CCAI) is rising quickly at the corner of Broad and Belvidere Streets, heralding a new era for arts education, interdisciplinary research and collaboration, and community engagement.
The eight-story, 213,000-square-foot building is designed to be far more than a new facility with additional space and upgrades. It will be a crucible for creativity, experimentation, engagement and lifelong learning—a reflection of VCUarts identity as both a global leader in the arts and a deeply invested partner in Richmond’s thriving arts scene and its future.
A Single Building. Many Worlds
For decades, VCUarts programs have operated in as many as 19 spaces and buildings. The CCAI will change that. The new building will be home to Theatre, Music, Dance, Cinema, Communication Arts, the Center for the Creative Economy and VCUarts student and faculty research programs. These programs will soon be under one roof, not merely sharing space, but intentionally designed to spark innovation and connection across disciplines.
The building’s architecture reflects that vision. Curved, organic forms draw the energy of the city inward, while each floor is organized as a “strata strand” of complementary activities. A continuous vertical vortex connects every level, pulling students, faculty and visitors into spontaneous cross-disciplinary contact from the ground floor to the rooftop.
World-class performance and production spaces will include a proscenium theater, concert hall, innovation studio, screening room, soundstage, dance studios and maker spaces. Expansive glass facades will open the building outward, offering sweeping views of VCU’s hometown.
A New Front Door for VCU and Richmond
The CCAI will anchor the Monroe Park Campus in a bold new way that serves as a center of gravity between the School of the Arts and VCU Health, a convergence that is both literal and figurative. The building’s location reflects a living partnership between VCUarts faculty and leading researchers from the university’s academic medical center as they collaborate to explore how creativity can enhance healing, improve medical education and address real-world clinical challenges through art and design.
Beyond the campus, the CCAI is designed to welcome the Richmond community. Striking floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a diagonal public passage at the Broad and Belvidere corner ensure the building’s creative activity is visible and inviting at street level, while a landscaped plaza and improved pedestrian infrastructure create a gathering space for students, neighbors and visitors. Together, these elements animate the Arts District and signal something essential: that VCUarts is integral to Richmond and that Richmond is integral to VCUarts.
The Road to 2027
With construction progressing rapidly, the project is on track to host an opening event in October 2027 and occupancy and full academic programming in 2028. The $253 million investment represents an extraordinary commitment to the future of the arts. This is all made possible thanks to the vision and generosity of the CoStar Group, which made an $18 million investment, and the Virginia General Assembly, state legislators, donors, partners and advocates who believe in what VCU and its arts community can achieve together.
The CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation will be much more than a building. It will be a landmark, a gathering place and a statement that says the arts are essential, that creativity drives progress, and that Richmond and VCU are ready to lead.
