VCU Health Set to Transform Richmond with New Cardiovascular Center

What was once a milk processing factory in Richmond has been reduced to rubble and mounds of dirt. The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System has nearly completed the demolition of a former milk processing factory on Robin Hood Road in Richmond to pave the way for a new cardiovascular center.

This month, demolition teams have removed the 60-year-old plant adjacent to Interstates 95 and 64 and the Diamond District. VCU Health declined to comment on the status of the demolition or their specific plans for the property. The region is quickly transforming from an industrial area to one centered around residential and entertainment developments.

VCU Health acquired the 3-acre property in October for $9.5 million, with plans to build a new $16 million facility, seeking state approval for key medical equipment like a CT scanner and two MRI scanners. The new facility will be part of the Pauley Heart Center, named in 2006 after donors Dorothy and Stanley Pauley, which focuses on treating cardiovascular diseases, conducting research, and training students.

The site is across from VCU Health’s Children’s Hospital of Richmond Brook Road Pavilion and is near planned developments such as an athletics village in the Diamond District. In addition, HCA Healthcare is planning a new emergency room nearby, further boosting the area's health care provisions.