The hopes of more than 100 area Catholics were fulfilled Thursday night when Tempe City Council members voted unanimously to approve a renovation of the ASU All Saints' Catholic Newman Center.
The renovation will include a new worship chapel, fellowship hall and a 22-story high-rise residence hall for students of all religions who wish to live there. Plans for the dorm include more than 400 rooms.
More than 30 students joined the supporters who filled the council chambers, even though the amount of time needed to complete the project is uncertain, and current ASU students will likely not have the opportunity to live there.
The council approval was only the initial step in the process of renovation.
But Shannon O'Connor, a Newman Center intern and journalism sophomore, said she went the council meeting, event though she believes she will graduate before the project is finished.
"I want future students to have the same community that I was able to find," she said. "[The project] would give students a way to adjust to college through spirituality."
Questions raised by concerned community members included parking constraints and religious favoritism.
Tempe resident and ASU graduate Jonathan Toomes spoke on both issues.
"We have a parking problem in downtown Tempe," he said. "Period."
The development will eliminate the parking spaces currently at the Newman Center building. The center has contracted 10-year leases for 147 parking spaces in adjacent lots on the assumption that most students will not bring cars to campus.
Toomes also raised the possibility that Tempe could face civil rights lawsuits if they do not allow all religious developments the same parking exemptions.
Attorney Charles Huellmantel, who spoke to the council on behalf of the owners and religious leaders of the Newman Center, addressed these concerns.
"Our argument has nothing to do with the fact that we're Catholic," he said, regarding the civil rights question. "If we were not associated with any denomination, we would expect it to be considered the same way."
Huellmantel added that the development would be close enough to the light rail, bus stops and the Orbit shuttles, so students could be expected to use public transportation rather than park cars at the center.
Before calling for a vote, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman required a stipulation that the city be given a way to enforce parking requirements.
He also asked that the Newman Center write into the lease that, if students living there have a car, they must have a Newman Center or ASU parking spot for it.
Michael Coakley, executive director of ASU's university housing, said the idea is beneficial for the University.
"I think there is a continued unmet need for student housing," he said. "So any plan of that nature close to campus is a good idea."
The Newman Center is not officially part of the University, but the two have a long-standing affiliate relationship.
The renovation will also benefit the nonstudent community, said Dolores Roach, a Tempe resident.
"Just look at this room," she said, motioning around the council chambers, where every seat was filled and supporters lined the walls. "We've got every age group here from the young students to the old folks like me. It's just wonderful."
Reach the reporter at: emma.breysse@asu.edu.
