The building on the northeast corner of Cary and Belvidere streets is now home to a place “where the future will be invented,” according to Dr. Michael Rao, president of Virginia Commonwealth University. That place is VCU’s new four-story Engineering Research Building, which formally opened Feb. 3 in a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony. Begun in 2018, the $93 million facility expands laboratory space for advanced research and includes fully equipped space for students to test ideas and create prototypes. Officials said that, among other things, the center enables students from art, business and other disciplines to come together with engineering students and faculty to investigate real-world problems, invent solutions, build companies and impact the world beyond the campus.

Evergreen shrub in the East End