Construction for a new ASU Foundation building will soon begin where Lot 51 currently stands at the corner of College Avenue and Fifth Street.
The new building will have 100,000 square feet of space and an 800-car parking structure.
ASU Foundation will use only half the space and lease the rest of it back to the University, according to the foundation's Web site.
"[The foundation] is still working through plans and designs, but construction will start sometime this summer," said Mernoy Harrison, executive vice president of administration and finance.
Local architecture firms Gould Evans and Architekton are working on the project, and Texas-based firm Lincoln Property Company will oversee construction.
Tempe City Council is looking into the possibility of expanding redevelopment sites to include ASU property.
In order to better facilitate redevelopment in the area, the council may expand the boundaries of their downtown area.
If passed by the council, the resolution would expand the Redevelopment Area No. 1, also called the downtown development area, to include about 10 acres of property east of College Avenue owned by ASU and the state of Arizona, according to a City of Tempe staff report.
The designation of ASU property as part of the redevelopment area would allow the University to take advantage of tax breaks, grants and other incentives to use for construction in the area and most immediately construction of the ASU Foundation building.
"The increase in boundaries would enable [the University] to use those tools, making redevelopment easier," said Hector Tapia, senior planner at the City of Tempe.
The city set hearings for public comment on the resolution for May 8 and June 5 at the Tempe City Council meeting Wednesday.
Want to be heard? Post your opinion in the forum below.
Reach the reporter at meagan.pollnow@asu.edu.
