Statement

By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

Virginia Commonwealth University officials said today they have learned that Sen. Henry Marsh has voluntarily filed a Notice of Dismissal with the federal court in the case involving the university’s purchase of the building at 701 W. Grace St. that formerly housed the Capitol Medical Center.

VCU officials had maintained that the lawsuit, which named the university along with Capitol Medical Center’s parent company Paracelsus as defendants, had no merit. Evidence presented to the court by Paracelsus showed that the terms and conditions offered by Paracelsus to the plaintiffs previously had been also offered to three other potential purchasers.

"This is certainly welcome news as we prepare for students returning to the university for the fall semester," said VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D. "The new West Grace Street Housing facility, situated centrally on campus, will help us meet the significant increase in demand for on-campus student housing that the university has seen in recent years."

VCU took ownership of the building on July 24 and renovations to the building’s third, fourth and fifth floors are completed. By the end of this week, 105 students will have moved into the building. When renovations on the building’s sixth and seventh floors are complete, the building will house a total of 167 students.

VCU officials were approached by Paracelsus Healthcare Corp. in September, 2000, with an offer to purchase the building that housed Capitol Medical Center. Paracelsus, a private, Houston-based corporation that was the parent entity of the local Capitol Medical Center, had filed for bankruptcy and had undertaken efforts to sell its assets. VCU entered into negotiations to purchase the building last October with the intent of using it as student housing.

Throughout the eight-month negotiations, VCU abided by all state laws and university procedures, and in May VCU’s Board of Visitors approved the purchase of the building.