The expected enrollment explosion at ASU in future years has pushed ASU Facilities Planning and Management officials to start work on a series of construction projects designed to accommodate prospective students.
As part of ASU's $.5 billion Capital Development Plan (CDP), Adaptive CM Contracting developers are constructing McAllister Academic Village in an attempt to expand residential living availability for freshman enrollment next year that is expected to be more than 6,500 students and may even surpass 6,900. According to ASU President Michael Crow, overall enrollment jumped 4,000 students this year.
The Village will also house classrooms and tutorial spaces that will facilitate "the needs of freshman by meshing living / learning environments through involvement and sense of community," according to Mike Matthews of ASU East food services.
"This village will really function as a microcosm of the campus for incoming freshman," said Senior Project Manager Richard C. Morehouse of Capital Programs Management Group. "It is a new concept that facilitates a significant amount of residential growth...It's our intent to have 10,000 beds available, but it's more likely we'll have about 6,000 as only part of the solution to the problem (of rising enrollment)."
The University has also begun making changes to the Memorial Union. Adaptive CM Contracting said Phase I of a proposed $15 million refurbishing of the Memorial Union will include the addition of new dining options by fall 2003.
Morehouse said the addition of several new restaurants, such as Pandini's Pizza and Salad Eatery, Salsa Rico Fresh Mexican Grill and a re-modeled Chick-Fil-A, will give a fresher look to the MU and the Orange Mall Courtyard.
"We're energizing Orange Mall with the intent of making it into a community," he said. "It will function as a mini-community center."
Morehouse said first phase renovations are running at $2.9 million, although developers have yet to determine the number of phases necessary for the $15 million plan. Also included in the package is the reconfiguration of MU restrooms in the food court and updated furniture.
CDP is also continuing its construction of the $69 million AZ Biodesign Institute that will provide laboratory and office space for research in neural rehabilitation, genomics and molecular biophysics according to the plan's executive summary.
Because many of CDP's new projects will be taking over campus parking lots, the company will also be constructing a four to five tier parking structure for approximately 1,500 vehicles outlined in an executive summary from ASU Facilities Management.
The lot will add 5,000 parking spaces over the next five years to curb mobile overcrowding on campus, as well as replace parking lots 8, 26, 40 and 42 that were eliminated in other construction assignments.
Reach the reporter at state.press@asu.edu.
