Interns from the School of Construction at ASU are helping with the development of the new Sun Devil Marketplace, opening in August. Current ASU students and alumni are involved in this project. (Photo by Ryan Liu)Graduates of the Del. E Webb School of Construction have the special opportunity to contribute to the building of a brand new facility for their school with the College Avenue Commons, a multi-purpose addition to the Tempe campus located off University Drive and College Avenue.
Okland Construction is the company in charge of the project, and it has many ASU alumni working for it on the new building.
Myles Morton graduated from the Del E. Webb School of Construction in December 2013 and interned for Okland before being hired there in January.He worked as an intern alongside other ASU graduates.
“Our entire project team that’s worked on the building is all graduates of the Del. E Webb School of Construction,” Morton said.
Since these graduates have a history and a connection to ASU, there is a lot of passion going into the construction of this building, Morton said.
“This is our school and we take a lot of pride in it,” he said.“It really has turned out to be the best thing we’ve ever done.”
The new facility has a unique function that allows it to be monitored in real time in terms of energy efficiency.
“The end product will be tied into monitors all around the building where they can pull data and do research on how the design affects the building itself once it’s done,” Morton said.
The building will also house the Sun Devil Marketplace, a new social area that will feature many popular retailers, ASU apparel stores and a community room that can be used to host meetings and events.
Construction management freshman Connor Ketterer is looking forward to taking classes in the new facility.
“I want to see the new types of opportunities and experiences this new building will bring to my education,” he said.
Allan Chasey, program chair and associate professor in the Del. E Webb School of Construction, is excited to have alumni working on the school’s new building.
“Normally, you don’t find the whole project management team as graduates from a construction program,” he said.“The nice thing about having our Del E. Webb graduates working on this building is that they understand our vision and they are working to help us implement that vision.”
The task of finding a home for the Del. E Webb School of Construction has been an ongoing venture that dates all the way back to the late '90s and early 2000s.
“It’s been a process for a number of years,” Chasey said.“This (building) is a culmination of that.”
The building is still in the process of construction and is expected to be finished in June.
“We’re excited because of the different teaching styles we’re going to be able to use,” Chasey said.“It’s really built to be a living lab for our students so that they will be able to see the construction process, identify systems (and) be able to use it as a teaching tool.”
Reach the reporter at jhgolds2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @mister_jgold
