Westmoreland County recently extended public sewer lines to the Hull Springs property, allowing for improvement and expansion of facilities. The Longwood Real Estate Foundation engaged with an architectural firm, Train Architects, who designed the VCU Rice Center, to conduct a limited-scope facilities study to evaluate and develop options for the renovation or replacement of many of the existing buildings at Hull Springs.
Representatives from Longwood met with architects for several months, and it was concluded that new facilities were needed and should include:
- Faculty and student housing
- Field classroom
- Dining/multi-purpose facility
- Teaching and research laboratories
- Storage facilities for canoes, boats, kayaks
- Outdoor showers
- Formal and informal outdoor gathering spaces, such as a fire pit and performance lecture seating
- Learning stations that address different aspects of the property—forest, creeks, wetlands—which will offer all visitors a variety of unique living and learning experiences
- Improvements to Hull Springs Farm Road
- Technology upgrades to allow live streaming back to the Farmville campus and beyond
The architectural design of the new facilities will reflect the environmental sustainability goals of the Hull Springs program and the rural setting of the site. The new facilities are planned to accommodate week-long visits by up to 48 university or high school students accompanied by 4-5 faculty or staff.
Fundraising
Working closely with the LU Office of Advancement fundraising events will begin in the fall for the new construction.
The Camp House was taken off-line this year upon inspection and determination of “structural deficiencies” by Train Architects and in agreement with the Hull Springs Leadership Team. In removing 20 spaces for student/faculty housing, changes will be made in bedding options at the Big House beginning July 9 to accommodate larger groups.