Replacing Virginia's Central State Hospital could cost up to $400 million, approximately $50 million higher than current estimates, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Nov. 27.
State officials said in October the project would be delayed, with completion expected by 2026. The psychiatric hospital was the first founded exclusively for Black patients when it opened in 1870.
Now, on top of the delay, the budget is estimated to have increased from about $350 million to $400 million, state Sen. Creigh Deeds told the newspaper. That figure is up from the $315 million projected in 2019 when the project was approved.
The new budget estimate was not confirmed by local authorities, but a spokeswoman acknowledged the final cost would likely come in higher than the original $315 million estimate due to inflationary pressures, according to the Times-Dispatch.