Skip navigation

TCC Perry Center honored with design award by commercial real estate group

Patricia & Douglas Perry TCC Center for Visual & Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management rendering

Tidewater Community College’s culinary and visual arts center, planned for Norfolk’s NEON District, was recognized with an Excellence in Developmental Design Award by the Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Estate (HRACRE).

TCC’s Perry Center for Visual & Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, which is scheduled to open in fall 2021, was honored with a Merit Award for Best Conceptual Project by the group.

Designed by Sanders and Crouse Architects, the center is to be built on land donated by the City of Norfolk on the site of the former Greyhound bus station.

“This project is made possible thanks to our partnership with the City of Norfolk and many community members and groups who are supporting our vision for a regional center to provide both educational and training opportunities for students and community members in Norfolk,” said Matt Baumgarten, executive director of TCC’s Real Estate Foundation.

The HRACRE Excellence in Development Design Awards program seeks to identify and encourage those who have invested and continue to invest the extra effort to bring quality design and development to the Hampton Roads real estate community. A panel of industry experts evaluated 39 submissions and presented the awards at the organization’s annual event earlier this month.

The Perry Center promises to energize the downtown area with expanded offerings in the college’s comprehensive culinary and visual arts programs by:

  • expanding TCC’s one-of-a-kind visual arts education program;
  • training the next generation of chefs with an expansion of TCC’s comprehensive Culinary Arts program;
  • creating opportunities for collaboration between culinary and visual arts programs;
  • making a test kitchen available to food entrepreneurs;
  • housing an expanded program in hospitality and restaurant management; and
  • providing dual-enrollment opportunities for Norfolk high school students and workforce education to residents.

The center will be funded by some TCC general funds but mostly by private donations raised through Go Further! TCC’s Campaign for a Competitive Workforce.

For more information about donating to the campaign, contact the college’s Educational Foundation at 757-822-1080 or visit advancement.tcc.edu.