ASU is one step closer to building a campus in Payson after the Rim Country Education Alliance, the liaison between ASU and Payson, purchased 22 acres of land alongside Route 260 on Thursday.
Gila County sold the land next to Gila County Community College’s Payson campus, land originally owned by the U.S Forest Service 10 years ago.
The land is intended to be used for educational purposes and is only waiting for a title transfer to clear, Payson Mayor Kenny Evans said.
The purchased land is on the north side of Route 260 but ASU’s larger plan is to develop an additional 300 acres south of Route 260, land still owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
Acquiring land from the U.S. Forest Service is proving more difficult, Evans said.
“It’s a complex process, and it’s one we want to get right,” Evans said. “I am really thrilled we are seeing the progress we are seeing.”
The 22-acre purchase is a sign that the plan will continue to move forward, ASU University Planner Richard Stanley said.
“Where we are right now is that we are trying to work with the town and citizens of Payson to find a way to make the financing of the campus work,” Stanley said.
Since ASU doesn’t have the money to build the campus itself, it is relying on the town of Payson and private investors to provide the facilities ASU needs, Stanley said.
“We need them to be built for us before we can go there,” he said.
In addition to construction costs, building a campus on the purchased land is expensive because it isn’t equipped with the needed utilities yet, Stanley said.
Payson just finished the process of proving they have enough water for the added population, Evans said.
“We’ve been working on finding locations where we can have partners who are willing and able to help us with the facilities,” Stanley said. “We are interested in seeing if this kind of model can be a useful way to advance the opportunities for higher education.”
ASU decided to experiment with smaller, more widely distributed campuses about two years ago as a way to expand the number of degrees awarded in Arizona and improve the economy, Stanley said. It was during ASU’s experimental phase that the town of Payson and Lake Havasu City contacted the University asking for campuses.
“There are certainly a number of people around the state who are place-bound because of their families, and there are people who will do better in a smaller community,” Stanley said.
There was a lot of economic pressure to get the University built quickly, but despite the slow process, the project is still receiving more than 92 percent support in the Payson community, Evans said.
“It is important for Payson but also for the state of Arizona to have a facility for a world-class education in a rural setting,” Evans said. “We see a very disproportionate number of rural students who fail out and don’t get their degree.”
A rural campus also gives students the opportunity to get an education at a substantially lower cost than at urban campuses, Evans said.
Payson has been hoping for a four-year campus for sometime, said Don Heizer, head guidance counselor at Payson High School.
Students will be able to get more out of their dollar if they can attend college at home, Heizer said, noting the population of students who stay home and go to community college is growing.
Heizer also said the transition to life in a community four times the size of Payson can be difficult for students.
“There are many students that say, ‘Oh gee. I can’t wait to get out of Payson,’ and then you start looking around four or five years later and guess where they are; they’re back at home again,” Heizer said. “In today’s world of stressed financial conditions, I think we will see many more students staying home.”
Reach the reporter at Michelle.Peirano@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
