U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine secured $125 million for high-impact projects throughout Virginia through Congressional directed spending.
In the Shenandoah Valley, priorities included a health facility, multi-use park, laboratory equipment, affordable housing renovations, a business accelerator, exam room renovation and a documentary.
One large project that was left off the list was the Waynesboro campus of Virginia Museum of Natural History.
Waynesboro City Manager Mike Hamp told AFP the omission was no surprise. The City of Waynesboro is a partner with VMNH on the project.
“To the best of my knowledge, federal funds are not being pursued at this time,” Hamp said.
Hamp said the city and VMNH leadership continue to communicate with individuals in state government preparing for the next session of the Virginia General Assembly which will convene in January 2025.
“The VMNH is a state museum, and I believe the prevailing expectation is that the General Assembly will appropriate funds necessary for the project with supplemental or complimentary funding from the VMNH Foundation and possibly corporate contributions,” Hamp said.
AFP reached out to Joe Keiper, executive director of the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, on Aug. 15 for comment on the current funding status for the museum. We did not receive a response to our request.
VMNH Waynesboro campus timeline
- Planning for the museum in Waynesboro dates back more than a decade to 2011.
- Funding for the museum was included in the state budget in 2020, but state funds were ultimately reallocated to support the COVID-19 response in the state. At the time, Greg Hitchin, the director of economic development and tourism, told AFP that he was “pretty confident” that the project would move forward some time in 2023 with a projected opening in 2025.
- In 2022, museum officials announced it had selected the Richmond-based Glave & Holmes Architecture to create designs for the facility and to see the construction project through to completion. The groundbreaking was projected in 2024.
- In October 2023, the construction start date was pushed back to 2025 as museum officials waited to hear if the project was included in the state’s capital planning fund. Hitchin told Waynesboro City Council that the 28,000 square foot campus could be open as early as 2026.
- While the museum awaits potential funding from the state, a mobile display unit was put in place in Constitution Park in 2023 to help the museum establish a presence in Waynesboro.
- Earlier this year, Hamp told AFP that “it will be necessary to adjust the timeline for the project” after the construction funding was not included in the budget for Virginia.
Construction on the museum is expected to take two years, and the cost is projected to be approximately $25 million.
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Chris Graham
