ASU West Campus has teamed up with major real estate develops to bring their own version of "community" to the West Valley.
"We have currently set aside just under 1 million square feet on the site [ASU West] to develop a combination of housing, retail and restaurants," said Kelly Grysho, manager for public relations and public affairs at the West Campus.
VTP Partners is a combination of three Valley real estate developers; Trillium Residential, The Plaza Companies and Vestar Development.
ASU West will "revitalize the surrounding community and establish this area as a true live/work/play destination," said David Larcher, founding partner of Vestar Development, in a VTP press release.
The ASU West original master plan from 1987 called for this section of campus to be designated as a commercial, retail and residential area.
Steve Nielsen, assistant vice president of university real estate development at ASU explained that after revisiting the master plan, there is still a need for commercial development in the area.
"In order for ASU West to truly transition from a commuter campus to a residential campus, we needed to create a 'college town' which is one aspect [that] both West [Campus] and East Campus' are currently missing," he said.
In spite of other commercial developments on the west side of the Valley, ASU West has been working to meet the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods.
"The type of community we envision is more neighborhood-service related," said Grysho. "There will be performing arts venues, dining, bookstores and specialty retail."
By catering to the community around the West Campus, VTP Partners have developed a plan to integrate the large number of senior citizens that travel to campus.
Due to the recently implemented senior citizens education program called Lifelong Learning, offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at ASU West, many new students find themselves commuting to campus.
VTP has offered a solution by creating a senior housing development on site.
However, the residential offers made available to the senior sections of the community will not deter needed attention or facilities from students, says Nielsen.
"I don't think it takes away from students ability to have housing," he said. "There will be market rate housing on the site made available to all students. The idea behind the senior living is to complement the academic living."
In choosing the VTP development team, ASU plans to capitalize on their investment.
"As the property owner, we will receive compensation for the use of the property, but that money will fund new academic facilities on campus," said Nielsen.
Currently, over 4,000 students live on campus and with the enrollment estimates offered by the public relations department at ASU West, this number should double by fall 2008.
Reach the reporter at: casey.kelsey@asu.edu.
