Virginia Beach, Va.— Ramon W. Breeden Jr. has donated $50 million to his alma mater University of Virginia. The Breeden Company chair has given to support the future of business education and athletics at the university to be evenly divided between funding for the McIntire Expansion Project and the Virginia Athletics Master Plan. When combined with $25 million in matching funds for the McIntire project, the gift will have a total impact of $75 million.
UVA President Jim Ryan announced the gift during the Friday meeting of the Board of Visitors.
“I am deeply grateful for Ray’s far-reaching investment in our athletics facilities and McIntire’s growing presence on Grounds,” Ryan said. “Our student-athletes and commerce students, among others, will have terrific new spaces in which to practice and learn for many years to come.”
The nature of the gift – support for the student experience at UVA – will provide crucial momentum to the University’s $5 billion Honor the Future campaign and underscore goals in the president’s 2030 Strategic Plan. Pending approval from the Board of Visitors, spaces contained within the Commerce School and the new athletics complex will be named for Breeden.
“UVA is the heart and soul of my education. It was truly the pinnacle of my education,” Breeden said. “The McIntire School prepared me to go toe-to-toe with Ivy League graduates. UVA’s business school didn’t just teach me about business practices, the school also taught me to have the confidence to speak. I learned how to be actionable in business because of my time at McIntire.
“In addition,” he continued, “I am an avid fan of many sports and believe they play a crucial role in teaching and promoting camaraderie.”
The McIntire Expansion Project is a complete reimagining of the Commerce School’s physical footprint, with renovations to interior and exterior spaces and the construction of a new building, Shumway Hall. The growing complex will also include the grounds surrounding McIntire’s current home, a renovated Cobb Hall and a host of outdoor meeting areas, expanded walkways and green spaces.
The Virginia Athletics Master Plan encompasses a new athletics complex that includes a Football Operations Center, an Olympic Sports Center to provide support to more than 750 student-athletes and the Center for Citizen Leaders and Sports Ethics. It will also include three natural-grass practice fields, a pedestrian promenade and the renovation of the McCue Center.
ABOUT THE BREEDEN COMPANY
Nationally recognized, with more than 60 years of expertise in every facet of the industry, The Breeden Company is a vertically integrated real estate development organization that boasts market-leading divisions including commercial real estate, multifamily property management and general contracting. With a portfolio of over 20,000 apartments and 2 million square feet of retail and office that have been owned, managed, developed and general contracted, The Breeden Company is one of the premier real estate development firms in the country. Breeden Realty is one of the top commercial real estate firms in Virginia (Virginia Business, 2023); Breeden Property Management is one of the top multifamily property management firms in the country (Multi-Housing News, 2023); Breeden Construction, the much-acclaimed multifamily general contractor for numerous third-party clients, is one of the top multifamily builders in the country (Multi-Housing News, 2022). For more information regarding The Breeden Company, visit www.thebreedencompany.com.
