With more student enrollment comes more construction projects on and around the University's campuses, with ASU announcing two new residential halls, one in Tempe and one on the West campus, and two new academic buildings.
In total, the University has more than 150 construction projects in the works. One of which is a new Tempe residential hall that will accommodate approximately 830 lower division undergraduate students in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts by fall 2025, said Tom Lyons, executive director of Capital Programs Management Group at ASU.
The building will be located between Mill Avenue and South Myrtle Avenue and East 10th Street and East 9th Street. It will be seven stories of about 257,000 gross-square-feet, and include 28,000 square feet of dining, classroom, office spaces and common areas, Lyons said. It will break ground next spring.
“I am very glad that they are building a new residence hall, even though it will probably be overpriced,” said Cale Kazmierczak, a junior studying industrial design. “If I had a nicer dorm my first year, I definitely would have been more focused."
American Campus Communities, a developer, owner and manager of student housing in the U.S., will provide approximately $113.5 million for the construction of the new facility, and the University will finance the dining, academic and office spaces, Lyons said.
“Programs grow and shrink constantly here at ASU, enrollment seems to constantly be going up, and we are constantly trying to respond to those signals to make sure that the space and built environment is most compatible with the needs and desires of our researchers, faculty and students,” said Alex Kohnen, vice president of ASU Facilities Development and Management.
Near the same construction site as the new residential hall, a $52 million utility plant for chilled water and power is set for construction, Lyons said.
“That side of the campus, we are really outgrowing the utility infrastructure, with all the build-up we have done
recently, and all the build-up we plan to do over the next decade,” Lyons said.
West campus additions
By 2024, 500 beds for undergraduate students and space to support student activities and events on the West campus will be available, Kohnen and Lyons said.
“We have seen enrollment increase and there is not enough capacity to support all the students that want housing out there at the West campus,” Kohnen said.
The building will be four stories, approximately 134,000 gross square feet and located between North University Way and West Wood Drive on North 49th Way, Lyons said.
“American Campus Communities will provide approximately $54 million of capital for construction of the new facility and will be responsible for the costs of maintaining the student housing facility,” Lyons said in a follow-up email on Oct. 6.
Additionally, a new academic building on the West campus, located in the same area as the new residential hall, will begin construction in March 2023 and reach completion in spring 2025, Lyons said.
The space will include four stories and 55,000 gross square feet of student gallery space, computer labs, drawing labs, faculty offices and future growth space, with a budget of $33.5 million, Lyons said in the email.
Polytechnic Education and Research Building
The University is still in the design stage for a new academic building to support students on the Polytechnic campus by summer 2025, Lyons said.
“It will be heavily involved in research and there will be classroom spaces in there for the students to actively engage in those research efforts,” Kohnen said.
The project has been approved by the Arizona Board of Regents, with a $175 million budget, and will break ground in September 2023.
ASU Facilities Development and Management are also looking at other smaller projects at the Polytechnic campus such as landscaping to make the area more drought tolerant, and expanding the community garden, Kohnen said.
University Athletic Village Master Plan Tennis Track and Field Facilities
An estimated $45 million project to relocate the University’s tennis and track and field programs to a new athletic village that was recently briefed to the Arizona Board of Regents.
“Relocation will permit new developments anticipated within the Novus Innovation Corridor,” Lyons said.
Bateman Physical Sciences Center Construction
Construction in Bateman Physical Sciences, D and E wings, will reach completion in Fall 2023, said Martin Wojciechowski, associate dean for facilities for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and an associate professor at the School of Life Sciences.
With the kind of research that happens in Bateman, the updates are necessary for proper water, heating and cooling systems and backup generators, Wojciechowski said.
When finished, the E wing will remain only as instructional labs for science classes, and the D wing, which used to be four floors of research labs, will now be only in the basement. Floors 1-3 will be all-new instructional laboratories.
“The giant renovation project in Bateman D- and E-wings will have an immediate, positive and long-lasting impact on the full scope of education, research and outreach activities that occur every day in the Bateman complex,” Peter Bennett, a Department of Physics professor who teaches in the building, said in an email.
The updated Bateman building will also provide more open space for students, furniture to sit down and more audio-visual instructional equipment.
“The goal is to better the place overall and when that happens, then we can bring in more federal dollars that employ students and staff and faculty,” Wojciechowski said.
“Right now, in various stages, we have about a billion and a half worth of projects either from conception to close out right now,” Kohnen said. “The overall picture is there is a lot going on, we have a lot of activity, constantly, at this school."
Other construction projects
The Omni Tempe Hotel, which is currently experiencing legal challenges, began construction in June 2021 and is set for completion in April 2023.
Located on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive and costing $125 million, the hotel will include a 30,000-square-foot conference center and 330 guest rooms.
To accommodate the new Omni Tempe Hotel, a $42 million parking structure will add 1,205 new parking spaces in a six-level parking structure located on the northeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street.
A new academic building priced at over $107 million will replace Wilson Hall, which was originally built as a residence hall in 1956. The new building will be five stories and contain classrooms, collaboration, instructional and office space, the website reads.
READ MORE: Wilson Hall to be demolished, replaced with new building after nearly 70 years of operation
Edited by Jasmine Kabiri, Wyatt Myskow and Luke Chatham
Reach the reporter at abickle@asu.edu and follow @AlyssaBickle1 on Twitter.
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Alyssa Bickle is a staff reporter, writing for the community and culture desk. She is a writing tutor for University Academic Success Programs, and a fellow in the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. She is pursuing bachelors degrees in journalism and political science.
