ASU's building boom illustrates university's commitment to keep moving forward

To understand how Arizona State University is never settling and constantly improving, look up.

At the seven-story student housing complex being built near Mill Avenue in Tempe.

At the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 (ISTB12) under construction on the Polytechnic campus.

At the 55,000-foot academic and office building that will be completed this spring on the West Valley campus.

Cranes, cranes everywhere, signs of ASU’s commitment to provide the best experience for its students, faculty and staff.

“We don’t stop growing,” said Tim Smith, ASU’s vice president for facilities development and management. “It’s always about what’s next.”

As the university continues to expand — ASU enrolls more than 181,000 students, including 41,000 new students last fall, and is on the cusp of $1 billion in research expenditures — that means more learning, living and discovery spaces to meet that growing demand. ASU has been tapped for leadership in a range of federal and state initiatives to tackle pressing challenges in health, sustainability, semiconductors and national security, all of which increases the need for specialized lab space and equipment. 

Construction projects scheduled to finish in 2025 total an estimated budget of $600 million, with an additional $300 million in projects starting this year, both in renovating existing spaces and constructing new buildings. For at least the last 10 years, Smith added, ASU has had close to a billion dollars invested annually in design, construction and closeout.

That sort of investment isn’t typical among universities, either nationally or locally, Smith said.

“On a national perspective, a lot of schools are seeing their enrollment declining, and they’re getting more selective about their enrollment in restricting who they bring in. ASU is just an anomaly,” he said.

The construction has multiple benefits, including providing state-of-the-art facilities and housing as well as generating income for the state economy.

“The projects’ spending contributes to the economy through employing design and construction professionals, purchasing materials and services, and more,” said Morgan Olsen, ASU executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer. “Certain projects also will have indirect impacts such as fostering additional creative and economic activity.

“For example, ISTB12 on the Poly campus will include industry collaboration space, where ASU faculty and staff will work together with companies engaged in fields like advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and unmanned autonomous vehicles to advance technology and industrial practice.”

Here’s an overview of ASU’s construction projects that will begin or be completed in 2025, as well as some planned for 2026:

Expansion continues on the 10 million-square-foot, mixed-use urban ecosystem that includes restaurants, sports venues, entertainment and housing along University Drive and Rural Road.

Recently, the restaurants North Italia, Flower Child, Blanco Cocina+Cantina and Blue Sushi Sake Grill opened in Novus Place, an entertainment district within the corridor, and a private development residential community will open this fall on the east side of Rural Road.

“It will have a young professional focus,” Smith said, “but we all know that our students are going to end up occupying a lot of those (apartments) as well.”

Once completed, the Novus Corridor will feature public outdoor spaces, 4,100 multifamily units, 1,000 hotel rooms, 275,000 square feet of retail space and 6.5 million square feet of commercial offices.

The project is expected to create 40,000 jobs and generate over $1 billion by 2035, providing a significant economic boost to the region.

“We think it’s absolutely becoming a destination location for the Valley,” Olsen said.

A new clean room is being built inside the MacroTechnology Works building at the ASU Research Park.

The MacroTechnology Works facility is a 250,000-square-foot facility with specialized tools for research and development, prototyping and semiconductor manufacturing. The building’s industry-scale capabilities include a $270 million collaboration between ASU and Applied Materials, with the support of the Arizona Commerce Authority, as well as the university’s Solar Fab and Advanced Electronics and Photonics lab, with tools for prototyping new technologies.

Smith said the clean room will cost $80 million and is funded in part by seed money from federal and state resources.

“It’s technically for us the highest degree of difficulty when it comes to constructing,” he said. “We’re going to be putting tools in that businesses will use, but also our students and faculty will get time on as well. And these are state-of-the-art, top-tier tools that are driving the semiconductor industry.”

The seven-story building, on the same block as the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU, will have approximately 830 beds, student dining, classroom and office spaces, and indoor-outdoor common areas. It is expected to open in time for the fall 2025 semester, and it will house undergraduate students in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

Smith said the building will enable ASU to raze Best Hall, Hayden Hall and Irish Hall, all older, outdated residence halls that now house Herberger Institute students, and construct a new public-private development.

The $115 million project, Smith said, will include new laboratories, infrastructure and mechanical systems, and modernization of existing laboratories for the building that was built in the 1990s.

Smith said ASU looked at the possibility of building a new research facility — ITSB 9 — but it was decided the university would get more “bang for its buck” by renovating the H wing.

The renovation will be done in phases; the west side of the building will be upgraded first while classes are being held on the east side. Smith said the project exemplifies ASU President Michael Crow’s “build it and they will come” mentality.

“When we create these lab spaces, they’re going to be brand-new, state-of-the-art in an existing building,” Smith said. “It’s going to allow us to recruit top-tier research talent that can get hands-on involved with our students.”

The three-floor, 173,000-square-foot building will provide office, meeting, instructional, research and collaboration spaces and will be home to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s new School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.

The building is expected to be open in time for the fall 2025 semester.

It will include labs specializing in additive manufacturing, robotics for smart manufacturing and industry automation, cyber manufacturing and operation research, semiconductor manufacturing, and manufacturing systems for the energy sector.

“It’s our newest research facility,” Smith said, “and it’s just really an exciting building.”

The $65 million expansion will include an addition onto the current Student Union on the Polytechnic campus, modernization of the bookstore, more dining options and more meeting space for the students, Smith said.

Smith said the expansion will create a similar environment to the Memorial Union and the Student Pavilion on the Tempe campus.

The 55,000-square-foot space, which will include new computer labs, drawing labs, faculty offices and student gallery space, is expected to be completed in April, Smith said.

The building is adjacent to the resident community Casa del Valle, and the first floor will feature exhibit space where students can display their art, Smith said.

“Everything is coming together,” he said. “It is really close to being finished.”

The goal of the $49 million project in Tempe is to move the existing track-and-field facilities and the Whiteman Tennis Center to the east side of Rural Road as part of ASU’s Olympic Village.

The relocation, Smith said, will open up prime real estate space.

Moving the older facilities out will allow for further Novus Innovation Corridor development, Smith said, with the goal of an array of capstone buildings.

• The McCain Library and Museum, honoring the late U.S. Sen. John McCain: The project, to be built on the Tempe campus, also will include a community center and an Arizona home for the McCain Institute, a resilience hub and a convening center for global leaders.
• Construction of the ASU Health headquarters in downtown Phoenix. The headquarters will include the new School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering, the School of Technology for Public Health and ASU Health Observatory. It will feature classrooms, study spaces, laboratories, clinical exam/documentation and debrief rooms, and faculty/staff/administrative offices.
• Modernization of the Music Building, constructed in 1971, on the Tempe campus. This project will include the replacement of the roof, windows and storefront entrances; and the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. New finishes, acoustical improvements and interior repairs also are planned to support the success of the university’s music programs.