Facilities developments meet growing demand across ASU campuses

Arizona State University completed over 140 capital projects during the spring, summer and fall 2023 semesters.

Facilities Development and Management and its collaborators continue enhancing the built environment to meet the needs of the ASU community across all campuses with outdoor space upgrades, lab improvements, a new parking structure and a hotel. In addition to the 2023 developments, the Tempe and West Valley campuses are bustling with construction for student housing and academic buildings that will open in 2024 and 2025. 

“These completed projects are only part of the more than $1 billion we have invested in ASU capital projects that are now in some phase of planning, design or construction,” said Tim Smith, ASU Facilities Development and Management interim vice president. “These are examples of how we continue to build the spaces and atmosphere necessary to support the transformational innovation our ASU community brings to the world daily.”

Following are details about several recently completed construction projects.

Alumni Lawn

The initial phase of the three-phase Alumni Lawn project on ASU’s Tempe campus provides enhanced views of the notable architecture of Durham Hall, Old Main and the University Club.

The project includes improved event access for flexibility and functionality with additional power and Wi-Fi connectivity. A new ASU monument sign facing University Drive was installed in October and designed to complement the Old Main Quad’s historic nature.

The project’s sustainability features include a subsurface storm drainage system called ACO Stormbrixx. This system is underneath the northernmost section of the lawn and addresses storm drainage and retention needs within the quad.

Subsequent Alumni Lawn phases will include improvements to the tree plantings, walks around the renovated fountain, and entry drive and parking lot upgrades.

Bateman Physical Sciences Center

This Tempe campus project extensively renovates classrooms and research labs in the D and E wings of the Bateman Physical Sciences Center to support academic excellence and enhance research competitiveness, as well as improve the ADA accessibility, functionality and capacity of undergraduate education in natural sciences and engineering.

The renovation returns resources to the campus infrastructure by upgrading the building systems with sustainable design features, including:

• A new roof system, including equipment screening and exhaust stacks.

• Code-compliant restrooms.

• New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

• Two updated exit stairways.

Optimizing energy use and systems performance are just a few Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) items this project has developed during planning, design and construction. ASU requires, to the fullest extent practicable, a minimum LEED Silver certification for all new construction and renovations of university‐owned and operated facilities.

“LEED certification is the most well-recognized framework for ensuring that contractors, owners, and occupants are building and utilizing buildings in a sustainable manner,” Smith said. “ASU delivers on our commitment to be true stewards for our local and planetary communities.”

Mill Avenue Parking Structure

The Mill Avenue Parking Structure, at the southeast corner of University Drive and Mill Avenue on the Tempe campus, replaced 700 surface-lot parking spaces by adding 1,205 parking stalls on six levels. The parking structure opened in the fall for daily and hotel valet parking.

The Tempe campus parking structure provides spaces for the new Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU, parking for Nelson Fine Arts Center and Gammage Auditorium events, and future site development of the surrounding area.

The structure’s north and south surfaces feature a vertical metal screen composed of thin blades set at various angles for a distinctive look that is not typical of a parking facility, but serves to enhance the Tempe campus entrance experience from the west. This view will be further enhanced by the 2024 completion of the attached new building providing additional office, classroom and at-grade hospitality space to the west of the structure.

Electric vehicle charging stations were installed to serve 20 parking stalls, and infrastructure exists for 12 future charging locations.

Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU

The Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU project is a $125-million investment and part of a public-private partnership that provides a high-quality Omni hotel and conference center that connects the Tempe campus with downtown Tempe and serves the surrounding community.

The four-star hotel on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive also provides 36,000 square feet of flexible meeting spaces and 330 guest rooms to support a broad range of meetings and events related to the university and Downtown Tempe communities. The hotel additionally serves up four new culinary outlets in the Tempe campus neighborhood.

Novus Innovation Corridor

The Novus Innovation Corridor, a 355-acre mixed-use, public-private partnership on the Tempe campus, continues expanding with retail space and office complex openings:

• The Alley, a boba tea shop on the ground floor of the Piedmont apartment building, specializes in handcrafted milk tea, brewed tea and coffee drinks.

• The first of three Rio Yards buildings wrapped up construction with a 150,000-square-foot office and adjacent parking garage along Rio Salado Parkway.

• Three additional restaurants along Novus Place are scheduled to open in spring 2024.

Additional work

Murdock Hall 101, in the heart of the Tempe campus, received a $3 million renovation that will be ready for students in the spring 2024 semester. The hall’s upgrades include a revamped seating area to accommodate chairs and tables, new furniture and finishes, improved lighting and controls, updated signage and audio and visual equipment, and a new ceiling.

Along with Murdock Hall, several classrooms across ASU campuses received updated audiovisual equipment and furniture.

In addition to many capital projects, Facilities Management completed more than 150 infrastructure projects — electrical, paint and maintenance — during the summer, totaling over $2 million.

Looking ahead

Five new buildings on three ASU campuses are scheduled to open in 2024–25.

• The approximately 173,194 gross-square-foot Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 on the Polytechnic campus broke ground in December and will provide office, meeting, instructional, research and collaboration spaces. The facility is scheduled to open in 2025, providing a home for Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s new School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.

• The new Wilson Hall on the Tempe campus will provide a five-story facility hosting classroom, collaboration, instructional and office spaces to support the growth of academic programs.

• The new Tempe campus academic and office space, which wraps the west side of the new Mill Avenue Parking Structure, will house various Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts programs, including music, music therapy, art, animation and photography, as well as multiple restaurants at the ground floor along Mill Avenue.

• The seven-story Mill Avenue student housing building with approximately 828 residence hall beds, student dining, classroom and office spaces and indoor-outdoor common areas is anticipated to open in 2025 and house Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts undergraduate students.

• Two new buildings are under construction on the West Valley campus, with a residence hall and an adjacent academic and office building. The four-story student housing facility will provide 507 beds, outdoor common areas and interior amenity spaces. The 55,045 gross-square-foot academic and office building will provide new computer labs, drawing labs, faculty offices, student gallery space and future growth spaces.