ASU’s West campus will begin construction on a new residential facility, dining hall and recreation center in June.
The West campus recently hired design professionals to work with the West Campus Facilities Fee Board, a group of 10 people from Undergraduate Student Government at the West campus, the Programming and Activities Board, the Residence Hall Association and different West campus colleges.
They plan to meet every two weeks to develop programming and offer design ideas.
If everything goes according to schedule, the residential facility, dining hall and recreation center are expected to open by fall 2012, said David Anaya, chairman of the West Campus Facilities Fee Board.
There will be a meeting with the Arizona Board of Regents Capital Project and Finance Committee to discuss the lease terms in January. The dorms, dining hall and residential facility are scheduled for review by the full Arizona Board of Regents on Feb. 17.
After formal approval by the board, the project will go before the Arizona Joint Committee on Capital Review for final approval. The University is not anticipating any issues in getting approval for the project, said Steven Nielsen, assistant vice president of University Real Estate, a branch of ASU that oversees construction on campus.
The new facility is planned to be LEED certified. It will include 306 beds, with residential life advisers and programming predominantly for freshman students. Once the dorms are built, all freshmen will have to live on campus unless cleared by waiver, Nielsen said.
The dorms will feature a higher-than-normal ratio of resident advisers to students, along with offering at least one classroom built into the dorm, Nielsen said.
The proposed 21,500-square-foot dining hall will offer dining facilities for both new and existing housing residents, as well as a UPS and retail store on its first floor. The recreation center will combine indoor and outdoor facilities, along with two full-sized rugby fields, Nielsen said.
“The intent is to provide amenities to make [the] West [campus] a place you want to stay at after class ends,” Nielsen said.
The project is an outgrowth of a 2005 University comprehensive development plan, which determined that in order to enrich the experience at the West campus, the school would have to convert from a commuter to a residential campus, Nielsen said.
The University decided to expand student housing and began a contract with American Campus Communities, Nielsen said.
American Campus Communities is the contractor that built the new complex for Barrett, the Honors College, and the Vista del Sol Apartments.
American Campus Communities will fund both the residential hall and dining facility, while the recreation center will be funded directly by revenue generated from a student facilities fee. The facilities fee was voted on by students last year and approved by ABOR, but the amount of the fee is still undecided.
The facilities fee will go into effect following the completion of the recreation center, USGW President Daniel Hatch said.
Students on each campus will pay the facilities fee because it is a general fund set aside for construction on recreation centers on all four campuses, Hatch added.
The dining hall, recreation center and residence facility on the West campus will collectively cost $50 million, Nielsen said.
Despite rumors of plans to close the West campus, the current development plans and a solar panel project scheduled to open in April are a testimony to ASU’s continued commitment to the West campus, said Stephen Des Georges, director of public relations and marketing at the West campus.
Amanda Butkiewicz, an interdisciplinary arts and sciences sophomore and student representative for the West campus Housing and Dining Committee said she believes the development plans are a “good step for [the] West [campus] to finally expand and reach its full potential.”
Reach the reporter at dgburns@asu.edu
