The new businesses at the Lake Havasu City campus hope to experience similar success to that of Mill Avenue. (Photo by Marissa Krings)Shop and restaurant owners in Lake Havasu City anticipate a business boom as the ASU campus expands.
The Lake Havasu City campus has brought in 70 students and has ongoing plans to expand and enroll more students each year, said David Young, director of programs of ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City.
ASU expects to increase enrollment at the campus to 800 students by 2017, he said.
The Lake Havasu City campus offers degree programs in communications, psychology and life sciences.
One of the initial draws for students is proximity to the main social venues, restaurants and retail stores.
Shops and restaurants are preparing for the growth of the campus with expectations that college students will improve business.
Donna Callahan has owned The Yarn Shoppe Boutique, a crafting store in Lake Havasu City, for three years.
She said the new school can only be a good thing for the town.
“The extended campus is wonderful,” Callahan said. “It hasn’t affected us much yet, but as the campus grows we will hopefully see lots of business.”
Lake Havasu City is a relatively small town with a population of almost 53,000 residents, less than a third of Tempe’s population of 164,268, according to a 2011 report by the U.S. Census Bureau.
ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City was built to function as a smaller campus in Arizona’s northeastern region.
Kim Dumond, an employee at Jasper’s Smokehouse & Steaks in Lake Havasu City, said further developing the campus would help the community because more students will be looking for jobs.
Jasper’s Smokehouse & Steaks opened in May of last year in time for the opening of the new campus.
“(Students) have to go somewhere, and Havasu is big enough to accommodate them,” Dumond said.
Sandra Skowera has been the owner of Second Hand Treasures on Scott Drive for three years.
“I'm all for it. (Students) will bring revenue to every type of business,” Skowera said. “All the local places that have been struggling, the students will keep them busy.”
Reach the reporter at mkthomp5@asu.edu
