Students from Miami University's department of architecture and interior design have come up with ideas for possible future use of Richmond 's former Pennsylvania Railroad Depot.

Members of the public are invited to meet the students and look over their plans from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday at Richmond Furniture Gallery, 180 Fort Wayne Ave. During the same hours, the depot will be open for tours.

Co-owner Roger Richert called the students' input "a new start" for efforts to bring new life to the historic building.

Richert and his wife, Theresa, bought the building in February 2010 and have been looking for tenants since January 2012. Despite numerous showings, it has remained unused except for a handful of special events.

The outside of the building has been restored , but the inside remains empty.

"Lots of people can't visualize" how the building might be used, Richert said Monday. He had been considering hiring a designer to develop plans for the space when he was approached by Miami Associate Professor Mary Ben Bonham about the possibility of making it a student project. Richert jumped at the opportunity .

Fourteen juniors and seniors have been studying the building, meeting with Richert and others and coming up with ideas.

"They're a really talented group," said Bonham. "They are so interested in adaptive reuse."

Adaptive reuse, she explained, entails "conserving and preserving old buildings in ways that make sense for today."

"It's not going to be a depot again," Richert said with a chuckle.

Possible uses to be included in Friday's presentation are restaurant, microbrewery, banquet hall, offices, family entertainment center, apartments, higher education hub and culinary school.

In addition to designs for the building itself, the students have prepared plans for parking, delivery, trash disposal and landscaping. "We tried to look at the whole site," said Bonham.

Students also will present reports estimating the costs of each plan.

Richert said he hopes the introduction of a variety of financially viable projects for the depot will stimulate discussion.

"The ideas start flowing and then you get people interested in doing something,'' he said.

Richert said he is "open to ideas from anybody." The depot building is not for sale, he said, but is available for lease or a possible partnership venture.

Miami University is gearing up for an exciting addition to its campus this fall with the unveiling of the Richard M. McVey Data Science Building. Located in the heart of the campus, this remarkable facility is set to provide students in the departments of Statistics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, and especially, Emerging Technology in Business + Designs (ETBD) Immersive and Reactive Classes with a groundbreaking space to promote innovation and creativity.

One of the standout features of the Richard M. McVey Building is the Immersive and Reactive Lab, where students from the Emerging Technology in Business and Design (ETBD) program come together in their capstone class to create capability demos for ongoing use on the XR (Extended Reality) stage. This cutting-edge XR stage will serve as a platform for students to develop and showcase their projects, which span a wide range of immersive experiences.

“The projects developed by ETBD students promise to be nothing short of extraordinary,” said ETBD student Laney Miller. “Groups of individuals are presently collaborating on projects, all poised to leverage the immersive capabilities of the XR stage.”

The students' creations will encompass everything from live broadcasting the excitement of esports to replicating the lively ambiance of a subway train. These projects are not just for fun, though; they offer numerous valuable opportunities for the students.

The XR stage project allows students to actively participate in setting up and integrating virtual production on a professional stage. They will have the privilege of collaborating with one of the world's best integration companies, Meptik, gaining hands-on experience and exposure to industry-standard practices.

Secondly, the projects are designed to exhibit the capabilities of the Immersive and Reactive Lab and the XR stage itself. Including projection mapping for dynamic displays, camera tracking for precise interactions, and blended reality capture for seamless integration of real-world video. These features provide students with a versatile platform to showcase their creativity and technical skills. This stage provides students with the opportunity to showcase their creativity and exhibit their technical skills to a wide audience, both within the university community and beyond.

Lastly, this initiative places professional-grade tools in the hands of students, enabling them to create and build with the same tools and technologies used by industry professionals. This equips them with real-world skills that are invaluable in their future careers.

For more information, visit the Department of ETBD or reach out to ETBD Professor Benjamin Nicholson.

One enthusiastic student expressed, "This was the most exciting and rewarding class that I have been a part of, and I can’t wait for people to experience it" (ETBD Student Caleb Adelman).