Students eat lunch Aug. 23 at the Polytechnic campus. Both Polytechnic and West campuses opened their new residence and dining halls this semester. (Photo by Vince Dwyer)West and Polytechnic campus students have new residence halls, dining facilities and recreation centers to call their own this fall.
West Student Affairs Dean Mistalene Calleroz said the new facilities were built to ease students’ transitions from home to college life.
“We’re working hard to build community and identity with the students,” Calleroz said.
The West campus added a new residence hall and dining facility. Construction on a $25 million recreation center is set to conclude in spring 2012.
The recreation centers at both the West and Polytechnic campuses were funded with a student facility fee while the residence halls and dining facilities were funded through partnerships with development companies.
American Campus Communities, a student housing developer based in Houston, covered the $25 million necessary for the hall and dining area on the West campus.
Polytechnic campus worked with Inland American Communities, a Dallas-based developer, to fund the $23 million residence and dining hall project.
The new residence hall at West, Casa de Oro, is 93,000 square feet and can house up to 365 students.
Casa de Oro was designed to be an interactive living space, complete with tutoring rooms and common areas that include televisions and pool tables. It also includes two kitchens and laundry rooms for the students' use.
Calleroz said the common areas are designed to get students out of their rooms and help them become Sun Devils.
Community Assistant Katie Malicdem said she noticed a change in the short time since students began to move in.
“A lot of the residents aren’t staying in their rooms,” she said.
Scott Struck, the general manager for American Campus Communities, said they are also excited to see the hall form into a community.
American Campus Communities will have a continued presence at the West campus throughout the year to maintain and manage the buildings while the school controls student life, Struck said.
The strategy behind the new Century Hall at the Polytechnic campus is similar to that of the West campus.
Polytechnic Student Affairs Dean Aaron Krasnow said the school recognizes the importance of creating micro-communities in order to help students, especially freshman, succeed.
“We’re looking to blend the living and learning environment so students can collaborate with each other,” Krasnow said. “If they are inside their rooms all the time, it limits their learning.”
Century Hall is an 84,657-square-foot residence hall that can house up to 306 students. The hall will only house freshman.
Krasnow said the University encourages students to continue living on campus after their freshman year because research has shown that on-campus students are more successful and likely to graduate.
The Polytechnic campus will also see the addition of a new recreation center this spring.
Reach the reporter at jaborbon@asu.edu
