On the southwest corner of Third and Fillmore streets in downtown Phoenix, dozens of men with hard hats are moving in and out of a four-story building covered with a giant black canopy.
It is the old Arizona Department of Water Services Building located at 500 Third St. and the future site of the College of Nursing at the new ASU downtown campus when classes begin on Aug. 21.
The new College of Nursing is a portion of the $100 million first phase of ASU's downtown campus.
An estimated 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students will attend classes on the campus this fall.
"There is a general enthusiasm for the campus and it is going to be great for downtown Phoenix," said Patrick Panetta, Assistant Director of University Real Estate Development.
The first phase of the downtown campus includes four new buildings: the University Center, the College of Nursing, temporary student housing and some space in the Phoenix Post Office.
The College of Public Programs and University College will also relocate to the downtown campus in August.
The public programs and university colleges will occupy 10 floors in the new University Center on 411 N. Central Avenue
ASU's existing Mercado Building will also be part of the downtown campus.
Over the next three months, there will be a flurry of activity in order to have the campus ready for the students by August.
DPR Construction Inc. is performing the design work on the new buildings. According to DPR, every floor in the University Center is being renovated.
The College of Nursing building has a more extensive renovation plan.
The company will build new interiors including drywall and electrical systems, while the outside receives a facelift to match the existing buildings, DPR said.
Even with the tight timeline, Brent Banning, DPR Project Manager, said he is confident that both buildings will be completed on time. The University Center and the College of Nursing are scheduled to be completed on July 21 and August 1, respectively.
With the fall semester to begin downtown in less than three months, the move has generated excitement with faculty and students.
Debra Friedman, dean of the College of Public Programs, said she is excited about the synergies that downtown will bring to approximately 1,200 students from the schools of social work, public affairs and community resources.
"There are 40 existing community business partnerships within a five-block area of the downtown campus, which will provide great opportunities and benefits for our students," Friedman said.
Kevin Cook, downtown's vice provost and dean of Student Affairs, said he thinks the campus will bring unique opportunities.
"It's an opportunity to engage students in a whole new way with different experiences," Cook said.
Carol Rogers, a nursing graduate student, agrees.
"The center of activity will be the downtown metro area and the return will be great for us," she said.
Despite new opportunities, some students are anxious about leaving the Tempe campus.
Nursing sophomore Kristina Brichta said she will continue to live in Tempe, but will now have to commute back and forth to downtown Phoenix for classes.
Social work graduate student Traci Andes said having one central campus is important for sharing ideas and creating a community with other students.
Panetta said the number of amenities downtown compared to the Tempe campus would be a challenge, at least initially.
"The Tempe campus is already established, so there are a lot of places to go and things to see," Panetta said.
The College of Nursing building is across the street from the Arizona Center.
Several businesses located in the Arizona Center are looking forward to the new downtown campus and the students that it will bring.
Rosa Hernandez, manager of Pizzeria Uno in the Arizona Center, said she is hiring new workers to prepare for the student influx.
"Customers are talking about the campus a lot when the come in and they are not affiliated with the school," she said.
While this is the first step to ASU's downtown campus, by fall 2008 the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will join the campus.
A permanent housing facility and a student union will also be built by 2008, officials said.
"We have a lot of work between now and August to get this campus ready," Panetta said.
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu.
