The University community can now enjoy the "new Dell" located along Emmet Street, across from the Central Grounds Parking Garage.
The "new Dell," which refers to the valley between Emmet Street and McCormick Road, was officially finished May 11, and showcased at a media briefing last Friday.
The project, which began in April 2003, cost $1.2 million to complete, according to Dick Laurance, project director of the John Paul Jones Arena.
The pond, though aesthetically pleasing, serves a functional purpose, Laurance said.
"It is part of the University-wide storm water management project," Laurance said. "The project's goal is to control the water that flows from Observatory Hill to the new Dell to Nameless Field and eventually to the John Paul Jones Arena."
He said the new Dell includes four main renovations. Meadow Creek, which previously ran through 48-inch pipes near the tennis courts, was "daylighted," or brought above ground, creating a stream.
Two bio-filters, located on the east and west sides of the tennis courts, also were created using rocks and sand to cleanse the water before reaching the pond.
Laurance said the project also was a great opportunity to fix the already existing water and sewer pipes near the Dell.
A park, which includes landscaping and a walkway, surrounds the pond.
Laurance said that by making the park-like enhancements and modifications to the Dell, the University prevented having to build a large pond by the new arena.
Since the pond was built upstream, as opposed to being next to the arena, it allowed the architects to leave trees on the Emmet Street and Copeley Road sides of the arena, thus camouflaging the new building, Laurance said.
Landscape architect and Prof. Warren Byrd said the new Dell is taking the University in a "very positive environmental direction."
Although the landscaping may take a few years to fill in, the wildlife, such as frogs and birds, have already begun to make the new Dell their home, Byrd said.
"We used plants that are native to Virginia, from the coastal plains to the mountains," Byrd said.
Byrd added that the Dell was originally land that University professors used to farm and raise cattle in the 19th century, before becoming a golf course in the early 20th century and eventually giving way to the dormitories and tennis courts that are present today.
Both Laurance and Byrd were eager to discuss the community's reaction to the new Dell.
"The most exciting part has been the e-mails from the community members who say they love it," Laurance said. "It gives people a place to walk that they didn't have before."
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