VMI occupies about 134 acres at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley off I-81. "There hasn't been any major construction here in years," VMI communications director Ken White tells GlobeSt.com. "As the [military] corps grows and as students' needs change, we need to accommodate." For the most part, all of the Post's--the school's--facilities currently center on the 12-acre parade ground. The expansion plans, however, call for building beyond the circle to the north and the south, and will potentially involve expanding about six buildings, constructing four buildings and creating two new athletic fields.

New construction will include a 121,000-sf field house, a 48,000-sf aquatic center, a 600-seat conference facility, and a parking garage to accommodate up to 635 vehicles. The new facilities will be erected south of the campus's center, on Main Street and Route 11, the "entrance" to the City of Lexington. The list of existing structures slated for expansion includes campus dining facility Crozet Hall, student center Lejeune Hall, ROTC building Kilbourne Hall and the VMI barracks.

Timing is subject to a great many variables. First of all, the school must raise funds from private donors to finance the project, and then it must tackle the issue of handling Route 11's and Main Street's relevant designated historic properties, which VMI hopes to incorporate into its construction. Finally, school officials must coordinate construction activity with the two other major building efforts in the area--neighboring Washington & Lee University's expansion, and the city's development of a new courthouse. Speculation on the timeframe for completion runs the gamut, but the school expects the work to be wrapped up in ample time for its bicentennial celebration in 2039. White quotes VMI superintendent Gen. JH Binford Peay III as saying, "If my dream would come true, it would be done in 12 years."