VCU's rec center push heats up: Oregon Hill leaders have become more vocal in opposition.

Byline: Gary Robertson

May 29--Charges, rebuttals, accusations, hard talk.

Those have been the ingredients for the fitful stew that has been served up over the past few months for Virginia Commonwealth University's proposed $43.3 million recreation center on Cary Street, between Linden and Cherry streets.

And a summer of discontent seems imminent.

Leaders of civic groups in neighboring Oregon Hill have erupted into a chorus of complaints, saying the project will tear the historic fabric of the storied working-class neighborhood and that the multistory building will be overwhelming.

But VCU has strong support from some of its closest neighbors, the Better Housing Coalition and the charitable St. Andrews Association, which has more than 20 rental units adjacent to the site of the proposed recreation center.

They say VCU is a good neighbor and an exemplary corporate …