RICHMOND, Va. -- By the time Art Kellermann made a final plea to his superior, Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, the then-CEO of VCU Health System had been lobbying for weeks for senior leadership to reconsider a downtown development deal that he warned could prove costly. It was July 8, 2021, just days before the health system was to finalize a lease to become master tenant and anchor of a $325 million redevelopment of Richmond’s old Public Safety Building site downtown.
