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Downtown demolition begins; first step to possible campus expansion

MAKING WAY: Demolition began today on the vacant Ramada Inn near the downtown campus. This soon to be vacant spot maybe the future sight of a new College of Law in years to come. (Photo by Jessica Weisel)
MAKING WAY: Demolition began today on the vacant Ramada Inn near the downtown campus. This soon to be vacant spot maybe the future sight of a new College of Law in years to come. (Photo by Jessica Weisel)

Demolition began early Thursday morning to tear down a vacant hotel and make way for possible expansion of ASU’s Downtown campus.

The abandoned building, located between Polk and Taylor streets, was part of a $6.25 million dollar purchase that the city of Phoenix made in February. ASU officials have said this land could be used to build new facilities, including a new home for the law school.

“It would be the ideal place for another ASU facility,” said Virgil Renzulli, vice president of Public Affairs at ASU.

Construction crews will be working weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The deconstruction phase of the building is expected complete in early November.

Everything is being done to lessen the noise and cause the least distraction for students, especially residents in Taylor Place Residence Hall, Renzulli said.

“We don’t expect for it to be disruptive,” he said. “Nobody wants to see demolition or construction near where they are, but there is no other way.”

To help students, construction will not be going on during finals, Renzulli said.

City officials plan to minimize effects on students by routing the construction traffic to 2nd and Polk streets. Meetings with Taylor Place residents and the ASU community will also be available to discuss plans regarding construction. Taylor Place residents can also request earplugs from residence hall officials.

Community assistants at Taylor Place have met and discussed how to best acclimate students to the nearby noise and assist with complaints.

Journalism junior Sammie Fitzgerald has lived in Taylor Place for the past two years, which included other nearby construction projects.

“We have had construction at Taylor Place in the past and the noise tends to bother the students early in the morning most,” she said. “Students’ sleeping patterns might be affected, but other than that, students should be fine with construction.”

Most of the construction around Taylor Place is necessary for progress, she said.

“Hopefully, it won’t be a bother to Taylor residents or community members of downtown,” said Christian Vasquez, Downtown student government president. “We have a lot of students here, so as we grow we will need more space and buildings to support students.”

Since there are two separate towers at Taylor Place, only a certain number of students will be affected by the noise in the morning.

The Ramada Inn lot will eventually be turned into a temporary parking lot for Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, said David Roderique, president and CEO of Downtown Phoenix Partnership.

The parking lot is expected to be completed by February.

“Even if the parking lot is only for the Sheraton, people parking in the streets will now free up spaces for students,” he said.

Although no funds are currently available to expand the Downtown campus, ideas to build a new law school have circulated.

“It is only a pipe dream at this point,” Roderique said. “There is no funding, but both the mayor and Michael Crow have said they would like to do this at some point in time.”

It may take about five years to be ready to begin new projects on the lot, he said.

“Long term, if this leads to the expansion of the campus I think it would be a very positive thing,” he said.

Reach the reporter at amoswalt@asu.edu


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