The $7.3 million project’s first and second phases are complete, and the third stage will begin this month, according to project leaders.

Students will be able to use some classrooms on the south and east sides of the building, including lab facilities. is conducting the work and project manager Welby Lehman said crews have renovated about 17,000 square feet of the building to date, while the third project phase will renovate another 8,000 square feet.

With the renovations, EMU hopes to boost its — — research, specifically in biology and chemistry programs.

The first phase included two classrooms, stairwells and elevators, the last of which Lehman said the center did not previously have. The second phase included four classrooms for biology and chemistry, two engineering classrooms and a dissection room.

Crews also widened hallways and made the north-south corridor a “science concourse.” The concourse will have chalkboard and dry erase wall surfaces for students and faculty to write on, and furniture will be dispersed throughout the space.

“We hope that that becomes the hub of activities for the science building,” Lehman said.

The center’s south and east wings have larger windows compared to older parts of the building, as well as skylights above the science concourse.

Lehman said he hopes the building will be easier to navigate and will have better natural light with the new design.

, EMU’s vice president of finance, said the project, which is funded entirely by donations, is “trending on budget.” Suter Science Center is nearly 45 years old and Bert expects the renovations to have a 20- to 30-year life span.

Despite a lack of budgetary hiccups since construction began last year, Lehman said crews did encounter some problems with working around faculty’s schedules and the site’s soil.

When crews built the new foundation, Lehman said they “had to dig deeper than we would have otherwise,” because of the soil composition, but that it was “not a big problem.”

During the third phase, workers will build three more classrooms and install eight chemical fume hoods, one of which is in a chemistry classroom completed as part of the second phase.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, Jan. 5, 2015

That’s changing later this fall, when bulldozers break ground on a 35-house development conceived and led by Dean Weaver ’89. With relatively little experience as a developer, Weaver focused more on the property’s opportunities rather than its challenges and jumped in with both feet.

“I didn’t know better. It seemed like the right thing to do … so I just did it,” says Weaver, who learned the hard way that securing planning and zoning approvals for an unconventional idea on an unwieldy site can be a long and tough process. “Here I am three and a half years later.”

Weaver’s goal for Collicello North – named for Collicello Street, which runs through the property – is to recreate the feel of an old, traditional neighborhood where different kinds of people can be united by an affection for the place and the people who live there. (Weaver uses the traditional pronunciation with a soft “c,” “Colli-sello,” although some in the neighborhood say “Colli-chello.”)

He hopes the mixture of detached homes and townhouse-style units will attract buyers of different ages and budgets. Most of the houses will face a central green area, with parking relegated to alleys in the back, a decision designed to encourage residents’ sense of “being connected, being community,” Weaver says. The master plan also includes a small amount of mixed-use space for commercial or office use.

Sustainability is another important part of the concept. The homes will be on the small side relative to the American norm, ranging from 900 to 1,800 square feet and emphasizing living space quality over quantity. Each house will come with a 3-kilowatt solar array on the roof, allowing homeowners to generate much of their own electricity.

Kirsten Parmer ’93, director of marketing at , emphasizes its location within walking distance of EMU and downtown Harrisonburg, and a connector path leading to the planned biking and walking trail.

“I believe that our culture is waiting for this,” says Weaver. “I think we’re primed and ready for it.”

After college, Weaver worked in construction for a while before starting an irrigation company. Housing development is a more recent interest that he’s pursuing in his role as special projects manager at Blue Ridge Architects, a company in downtown Harrisonburg led by Randy Seitz, class of ’87.

With design work handled by Blue Ridge Architects (which is also ), Weaver will manage construction of Collicello North through another company he started with Seitz, R+D Building Systems. He hopes to set a close-knit, collaborative tone for the project, beginning with financing, development and design and continuing throughout construction. Making things as welcoming as possible for small contractors – e.g. minimizing paperwork and paying every two weeks – figures into his desire to “do my part in living in a nice community.”

Weaver feels confident that enough others want to live in the kind of nice community he has in mind that he’ll be building out Collicello North on spec, rather than waiting for individual lots to sell.

“If I build it, they will …” he says, before trailing off with a chuckle. It’s probably bad karma for a developer to say something like that, he admits.

Regardless, he is about to build it, and hopefully they will come. If all goes according to plan, construction on Collicello North will be finished less than two years from now, and community at Collicello North will have just begun.

In an industry in which computers have replaced pen and paper in the drafting stage, you’d be hard pressed to find a drawing board in 90 percent of architectural firms, he says.

But the once essential board, quickly becoming a thing of the past, serves not only a practical purpose for Seitz, it’s a daily reminder of why he entered the industry at all.

“I got into this because, in ninth grade, I took a mechanical drawing course and said, `I want to do this with the rest of my life,’ ” he said.

More than 30 years later, most of his work is computer-based, but there’s still that “white piece of paper stage,” as Seitz calls it.

“To me, that piece of the process happens best with a pen or pencil in my hand,” he explained.

Certainly, Seitz and Blue Ridge Architects have made many changes throughout their time in the industry, and now the downtown Harrisonburg company is celebrating its 10-year anniversary by giving back to the community surrounding it with six events throughout the year.

A year of celebration

In February, Blue Ridge Architects welcomed nominations for local ministers to win a trip to Exponential East in Orlando, including lodging and airfare.

The prize went to local pastor Peter Eberly.

The following month, the firm hosted a three-day free film series featuring the architects’ favorite movies.

On May 3, the firm offered a free church architecture tour, explaining the history behind some of what the company calls the best architecture in downtown Harrisonburg.

The biggest event is coming up, however; Blue Ridge Architects’ official 10-year anniversary is in June, so the firm is holding a celebration June 21 at the Turner Pavilion, which it designed.

On Sept. 19, the firm will host a 10-hour pro bono design marathon to benefit local nonprofits.

To finish up the year, the firm will have 10 days of Christmas giveaways in December.

The firm is also offering its front room, equipped with a kitchen and ample meeting space, for use for local nonprofits.

The history

Blue Ridge Architects has been marked by the ebbs and flows of the industry, but it’s come out strong.

In 2004, Seitz and Ron Davenport opened up what was then called Blue Ridge Design Studio at 61 S. Main St.

“That’s kind of when the whole real estate industry was overheated,” Seitz said, explaining that architects were just overloaded with so much work.

A Harrisonburg native, he wanted to move back home from Indiana.

“I looked at working for other firms, and I looked at the opportunities I would have going on my own,” he said. “It seemed to be a great time to kind of go out on your own.”

The surge in business lasted for about five years, and “then the bottom fell out,” as he puts it.

The recession hit the architecture industry nationwide, and Blue Ridge Architects was no different.

“We got through it because everybody made sacrifices,” Seitz said, adding that 2009 was the roughest year for the company.

Since then, however, the firm has gotten to the point where it has too much work – a much better problem than the 2009 situation, Seitz points out.

In 2010, the company changed its name to the current moniker thanks to a tip from a marketing consultant.

“Amongst many recommendations, big and small, one of them was, `Put `architects’ in your name so people know what you do,’ ” Seitz said.

Less than a year ago, the firm moved to its current spot at 126 W. Bruce St., a jump from 750- to 3,000-square-feet of office space.

But the business has already outgrown the place.

It started a sister construction-management company, called R+D Building Systems, to address a shift in the industry toward inclusive design and construction businesses. That company is currently housed in Blue Ridge Architects’ storeroom.

“We’re going to be doing some renovations over here in the summer to try to better accommodate it,” Seitz said.

The firm has hired seven staff members, mostly architects, in the past year, and it’s in the process of starting its first offshoot branch in Charlotte, N.C.

Bursting at the seams

About one-third of the firm’s work is large church projects in the Mid-Atlantic region, another third of the workload consists of projects for Eastern Mennonite and James Madison universities, and the last chunk goes toward a mix of residential, retail and commercial projects.

“Architecture firms of our size, particularly those that aren’t working in a metropolitan area, they need a couple areas of specialty and concentration but you also need kind of a general practice,” Seitz explained. “That combination is … the best for weathering the ups and downs of the economy.”

At 16 employees currently, the firm is still small but it’s the largest architectural company, or branch thereof, in the Valley, Seitz believes.

At any given time, the firm’s employees are working on roughly 30 active projects, ranging from a $5,000 feasibility study to a multi-year contract; the firm is looking for ways to keep that number lower.

“It feels to me like the growth that has happened recently has been sort of that, `Build it and they will come,’ kind of concept, taking a leap of faith with this space and, within a year, filling it up,” said Kirsten Parmer [1993 EMU grad], head of PR and marketing for the firm.

The business was recently named second best architectural firm in the Shenandoah Valley by Virginia Living magazine.

“We are very fortunate and feel very blessed and are glad to be where we’re at,” Seitz said.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, May 20, 2014

Referring to the $7 million fundraising target to implement the renovations, “we can get our arms around these plans,” said Gerry Horst of New Holland, Pa., a construction-company owner who chairs the steering committee and who is an EMU trustee. “The plan is doable, environmentally and fiscally responsible,” he added. “It will give our top-notch faculty and students the facilities they need to continue to be successful.”

The plans were announced at a half-day event for some 50 guests, who viewed schematics prepared by , in consultation with , which specializes in laboratory construction.

, vice president for advancement, said $5,136,741 has already been raised in cash and commitments toward the $7 million goal. He said the remaining amount necessary to undertake the renovations is expected to be raised in the next 12 to 19 months.

“We are eager to complete fundraising so improvements can be made as soon as possible,” said President Loren Swartzendruber. Referring to the successful conclusion of the “quiet phase” of fundraising for the renovation, “we’re experiencing strong momentum for the project – the time is right.”

The renovations will poise EMU for the future and allow EMU science programs to keep pace with technology, research, and trends in fields such as health care for an aging population and environmental science, as well as enable new programs in and to grow.

“Here at EMU is where the research opportunities are at,” said junior Autumn Berry in a brief presentation to the donors and community members who gathered to see the renovation plans. Berry is a pre-professional health student who transferred to EMU from a large public university. She is researching neurotransmitters alongside , PhD, associate professor of .

Hundreds of science alumni “who serve and lead with distinction are proof that the quality of EMU’s program is unsurpassed,” said Shisler. “Now is the time to upgrade facilities to match the quality of our program.” Since opening in 1968, the Suter Science Center has been the springboard for 3,528 alumni who majored in a scientific discipline, including 890 employed in the Shenandoah Valley, largely as nurses, educators and physicians.

“In renovating and upgrading our labs and learning spaces, we will be enabling our future graduates to continue to be in strong demand in graduate schools and in the job market,” said Shisler. “At the same time, we will be ensuring their safety as a result of installing the best-possible air-exchange systems for working with chemicals and the best-possible conditions for their studies using cadavers and animals.”

EMU’s anatomy and physiology students are among a select group of undergraduates nationwide who have the opportunity to work with human cadavers, rather than with simulations or models of cadavers.

“Our cadaver program is just one example of the unique hands-on opportunities that EMU provides,” explained biology professor , PhD. All EMU biology and students are required to do original research, he told those gathered to see the fresh building plans. Each year up to 22 students are involved in research, he added, and eight to 10 publish their findings in journals, making them stand-outs when seeking further education.

More information about the , or by contacting Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement, at kirk.shisler@emu.edu or 540-432-4499.

Edgar Miller, general manager of ., gave a presentation on emotional intelligence with staffing issues, marketplace competition, budgeting, strategic planning and team development.

“People have become too busy with text and words,” said Miller. “[The decrease] of face-to-face interaction can lead to oversensitivity and self doubt in the workplace.”

A panel discussion delved into emotional intelligence’s impact on transactions, affirmation of employees and being an emotional leader. Panelists included Keith May of , Randy Seitz of , Carole Persinger of , and Brent Trumbo of .

Representatives in attendance

Individuals and businesses in attendance included , , , ., , , ., , ., , , ., , , , , ., and .