Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
James Madison University just landed a pretty big chunk of state money that will impact multiple areas of JMU and Harrisonburg itself.
Virginia's new state budget, passed in late June, includes nearly $150 million for JMU. Most of that... $115.3 million... goes toward a new five-story addition to the College of Health and Behavioral Studies building, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Another $30.5 million is earmarked for renovating Johnston Hall on the Quad. Plus, there's $1 million a year (ongoing) to support JMU's new accelerated nursing pathway called Fast Flex.
So... what does that mean for Harrisonburg?
First of all, significant construction. The addition to the College of Health and Behavioral Studies building will be about a 125,000 square foot of new space... and the Johnston Hall renovation will modernize a building originally built in 1929. Groundbreaking is expected this fall, with the building opening in 2029.
Second, jobs in the longer term time horizon. This is the piece I find most relevant to our housing market. JMU is already one of Virginia's top producers of nursing graduates among four-year schools, but they've had to turn away some qualified applicants... about a third of them in one recent year... simply because there wasn't enough space or faculty. The new Fast Flex funding helps address both problems. More nursing graduates means the potential for more healthcare jobs filled locally, and healthcare has been one of the steadier employment sectors in the valley for a while now.
Finally, people who stay. This part actually connects to housing directly. Local officials pointed out that a lot of JMU grads from these programs choose to stay in the valley... to work, to buy homes, and to raise families. Thus, every year, we're not just producing new nurses and healthcare professionals, we're potentially producing new long-term members of our local community.
Here are a few more details, if you're interested...
The College of Health and Behavioral Studies is JMU's largest college with more than 7,000 students across eight majors, 20 graduate programs and various minors. The significant expansion of the CHBS building will include teaching labs, community oriented clinic spaces, classrooms and faculty workspaces and more.
Johnston Hall was originally a residence hall and was later converted to an academic building. The renovation project is expected to take 18 months with Johnston Hall reopening in Fall 2028.
The Bachelor of Nursing Fast Flex Pathway is the first of its kind in Virginia and will allow nursing students to complete their core nursing credits in one year instead of two by having some coursework and clinicals in the evenings and on the weekends. The Fast Flex program will allow nurses to enter the nursing field faster than they would through a traditional undergraduate nursing program.
Read more about the new state funding and its use at JMU here.
Virginia's new state budget, passed in late June, includes nearly $150 million for JMU. Most of that... $115.3 million... goes toward a new five-story addition to the College of Health and Behavioral Studies building, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Another $30.5 million is earmarked for renovating Johnston Hall on the Quad. Plus, there's $1 million a year (ongoing) to support JMU's new accelerated nursing pathway called Fast Flex.
So... what does that mean for Harrisonburg?
First of all, significant construction. The addition to the College of Health and Behavioral Studies building will be about a 125,000 square foot of new space... and the Johnston Hall renovation will modernize a building originally built in 1929. Groundbreaking is expected this fall, with the building opening in 2029.
Second, jobs in the longer term time horizon. This is the piece I find most relevant to our housing market. JMU is already one of Virginia's top producers of nursing graduates among four-year schools, but they've had to turn away some qualified applicants... about a third of them in one recent year... simply because there wasn't enough space or faculty. The new Fast Flex funding helps address both problems. More nursing graduates means the potential for more healthcare jobs filled locally, and healthcare has been one of the steadier employment sectors in the valley for a while now.
Finally, people who stay. This part actually connects to housing directly. Local officials pointed out that a lot of JMU grads from these programs choose to stay in the valley... to work, to buy homes, and to raise families. Thus, every year, we're not just producing new nurses and healthcare professionals, we're potentially producing new long-term members of our local community.
Here are a few more details, if you're interested...
The College of Health and Behavioral Studies is JMU's largest college with more than 7,000 students across eight majors, 20 graduate programs and various minors. The significant expansion of the CHBS building will include teaching labs, community oriented clinic spaces, classrooms and faculty workspaces and more.
Johnston Hall was originally a residence hall and was later converted to an academic building. The renovation project is expected to take 18 months with Johnston Hall reopening in Fall 2028.
The Bachelor of Nursing Fast Flex Pathway is the first of its kind in Virginia and will allow nursing students to complete their core nursing credits in one year instead of two by having some coursework and clinicals in the evenings and on the weekends. The Fast Flex program will allow nurses to enter the nursing field faster than they would through a traditional undergraduate nursing program.
Read more about the new state funding and its use at JMU here.
