ASU breaks ground on Downtown Phoenix campus rec center

ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus and the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA are on their way to adding another major amenity to the city’s core, as they broke ground Aug. 24 on a new $25 million student recreation center.

Construction on the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus Recreation Center (also known as the Y@ASU) will commence on the 64,000-square-foot facility, scheduled for completion by 2013.

“Our students’ wellness is a top priority at ASU,” said Georgeana Montoya, dean of students on the Downtown Phoenix campus. “The Y@ASU will provide our students with a brand new facility to help them focus on their health and well-being.”

Presently, students from ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus use the recreation and fitness amenities at the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA, which will adjoin the new building at ground level. The building was erected in 1955 and last renovated in 2006. About 2,500 ASU students are members of the downtown YMCA.

The new five-story facility will include a large gymnasium, a weight room, an indoor track, multi-purpose space, student lounge, bike co-op, locker rooms and a rooftop leisure pool.

Exercise & Wellness, an academic program in ASU’s School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, will be housed at the center, located just south of the YMCA at 350 N. First Ave., Phoenix, in between Fillmore and Van Buren streets.

“The Exercise & Wellness program lab facilities in the new Y@ASU will provide our students with a state-of-the-art facility,” said Linda Vaughan, director of the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion. “We are delighted to have our students and faculty so closely embedded in the community.”

The new recreation center will be equipped with numerous energy-saving features, including a variable refrigerant flow air system, and natural day-lighting balanced with solar-heat shading. Gabor Lorant Architects of Phoenix has designed the building to achieve LEED Silver certification and Sundt Construction will build the center.

“I’m so excited to see the Y@ASU come to fruition on the Downtown Phoenix campus,” said Tania Mendes, the former student body president of the Downtown Phoenix campus. “As a Council of Presidents’, three years ago, we saw the need and value for services across all four campuses and this is a reflection of our students' pride in Arizona State University.”

The center is funded entirely by a student government-endorsed fee of $75 per semester. No state dollars or tuition monies are being used to fund construction.

The Y@ASU is one of four fitness centers across the university system that students voted to fund with an increase to their recreation fees. New Sun Devil Fitness Complexes are being constructed on the West and Polytechnic campuses, and the Sun Devil Fitness Complex on the Tempe campus is being expanded.

For more information about the new ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus Recreation, or the Aug. 24 groundbreaking event, call the dean of students office at 602-496-4357 or deanofstudentsDPC@asu.edu