MAY 28, 2009 ISSUE
ASU Drafts New Campus Master Plan
Lovins Says Legends Will Not Be Demolished
Just as the Town of Boone considers a new land use master plan that will guide its planning for the next 20 years, Appalachian State University is also about to approve a new campus master plan, an infrastructure plan that will see the university through 2020.
The timing isn’t the only thing the two master plans have in common. Both entities hired The Lawrence Group, a planning and design firm, to facilitate the public input process and develop draft versions of their plans.
Two weeks ago, ASU Interim Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Greg Lovins met with the Boone Planning Commission and solicited input about the draft campus master plan.
“It’s a living master plan,” Lovins said. “We certainly want and need the town leaders’ input.”
The last campus master plan was adopted in 2000. The updated campus master plan, titled “Master Plan 20/20,” will be presented to the ASU Board of Trustees for consideration at its quarterly meeting on Friday, June 19.
The non-binding document makes plans for such infrastructure needs as parking, street improvements, new buildings, pedestrian and bicycle improvements and AppalCART transit expansion.
The guiding principles of the plan, as listed in a draft version, are: (1) Preserving Our History; (2) Meeting Regional, State & National Needs; (3) Model for Learning; (4) Building Strong Town Relationship; (5) Defining Campus Perimeter; (6) Appropriate Land Utilization; (7) Ecological Responsibility; (8) “Green” Is Evident; (9) Pedestrian Priority; and (10) Open Space Allocation.
The draft plan also includes five specific design guidelines: (1) The university will adhere to a sustainable environment; (2) New buildings on campus will be LEED certified; (3) “Net Zero” energy conservation principals will be considered for site development projects; (4) The inclusion of open space and creating a pedestrian-oriented campus will be a priority for growth; and (5) The master plan will be an official document to guide future growth on campus and facilitate communications with the community of Boone.
A major change from 2000 and a significant focus of the updated master plan are plans to increase on-campus student housing, Lovins said.
“[In 2000,] most of our students at the time didn’t express as much of a desire to live on campus then as they do now,” he said. The Board of Trustees recently charged the university with increasing the percentage of undergraduates living on campus to 40 percent. Currently, that figure is just under 34 percent, Lovins said.
“In every conversation, student housing has really been in the forefront of it,” he said.
East Howard Street in particular has been identified as an area for new student resident hall buildings. The university recently purchased the First Presbyterian Church property along Howard Street.
In draft versions of the campus master plan update, several maps indicate a new parking deck and new residence hall at the site of the current Legends entertainment venue, which sparked a lot of concern across campus. Although the university does expect to construct some type of parking structure at that location in the future, there are no plans to demolish Legends, Lovins said.
“Legends is a very important part of university student life, not just as a place for entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights, but for multi-functional uses also,” he said. “There will be Legends.”
Another ideal area for campus growth is the property adjacent to the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, Lovins said. Last year, the university requested that the Town of Boone rezone the area from R-1 to allow for student housing, but the town denied that request after neighbors complained about potential noise and light pollution. During the public input process for the master plan, a faculty member suggested that the property could be used for a research campus—the planned Research Institute for Energy, Environment and Economics.
Many of the draft campus master plan’s recommendations move toward improving and increasing walking and bicycling on campus and intercepting vehicles at the perimeter of campus. As many as six new parking decks are proposed.
Another major recommendation is the creation of a roundabout at the intersection of Rivers Street and Hardin Street within four years.
Lovins emphasized that the campus master plan update will not be a plan set in stone, but instead a set of guidelines and recommendations that could change based on new circumstances.
To learn more about the campus master plan update and download a draft version of the plan, click to www.masterplan2020.appstate.edu.
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