ASU broke ground on the Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall and Entrepreneurship Center Monday in the second groundbreaking of a building for the Herberger Institute this year.
The building, located at First Avenue and Fillmore Street, will be the second residence hall at the Downtown Phoenix campus, in addition to Taylor Place, which opened in 2008.
The groundbreaking occurred in front of the building site where construction began in January.
The Center will house more than 500 students from across the existing downtown majors as well as students from Herberger’s fashion and popular music programs, which will move to the Downtown Phoenix campus in the Fall 2021 semester when the dorm opens.
Lease rates for the apartment-style units will be comparable to Taylor Place, according to a press release from ASU, and graduate and sophomore and above undergraduate students will be able to reside in the building.
READ MORE: New multiuse dorm building set to open on Downtown Phoenix campus
Speakers included:
- ASU President Michael Crow.
- Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
- Herberger Dean Steven Tepper.
- Associate Vice President of Entrepreneurship + Innovation Ji Mi Choi.
- Deputy Vice President of student services Joanne Vogel.
- Undergraduate Student Government Downtown Vice President of Policy Kylie Cochrane.
- Capstone Development Partners Executive Vice President William Davis.
The building's first three floors will consist of design and fashion studios, fabrication labs, music practice and ensemble rooms, recording studios and more, according to the press release, and the Entrepreneurship + Innovation unit will play a role in managing the activity at the Center.
The speakers focused on the impact the new living space would have on the art scene of downtown Phoenix. ASU officials hope the building will allow students to interact with the area to make professional connections in the art industry.
Benjamin Cortez, a junior studying jazz piano performance, played songs from his album “In Your Hands” before and after the speechmaking portion of the event.
President Crow discussed ASU’s 14-year history in downtown Phoenix, praising the extent to which the University has become embedded in multiple communities through its expansion beyond the Tempe campus.
“I would guess that we're somewhere between 2% and 4% done with what will ultimately be the evolved downtown campus of Arizona State University embedded here in Central Phoenix,” Crow said. “What I mean is that we're just getting started.”
Gallego said she is excited to see Herberger bring greater design and art to Phoenix.
“The skyline of Phoenix is getting smarter today,” she said.
Reach the reporter at gforslun@asu.edu and on Twitter @GretaForslund.
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