The ODU Master Plan
December 9, 2002
Jeff Bell
BUSINESS FIRST
A campus center, expanded sports and recreation facilities, more student housing and streetscape enhancements along Sunbury Road top a list of improvements outlined in a new master plan for Ohio Dominican University.
The initiatives tie into the Catholic private college's goal of increasing its base of students who live on campus, said Ohio Dominican President Jack Calareso.
"It's an aggressive plan," he said, "but we have a high degree of confidence we can do this."
Developed by Sasaki Associates of Boston, the plan projects Ohio Dominican's facility needs over the next 15 years. Capital improvement projects are prioritized in five-year blocks.
The master plan was unveiled by university administrators Dec. 2.
In broad terms, the plan calls for the north end of campus to be dominated by student housing. The south end will consist of academic and student activity buildings.
The first phase of development, at an estimated cost of $25 million to $30 million, includes:
- Building a campus center opposite Alumni Hall along Sunbury Road. A building of 80,000 to 90,000 square feet could include a lobby, lounge, cafe and facilities for dining, retail, student support programs, worship and entertainment.
"It's designed to be a crossroads for residential and commuter students and a new landmark for the university as you approach it from the south," said Sasaki President Ken Bassett. ·
- Erecting an elevated walkway over Sunbury Road that would connect the campus center with Spangler Library and Wehrle Plaza on the east side of Sunbury Road.
- Adding trees, lighting, sidewalks and landscaping along Sunbury to make the streetscape more appealing and accommodating to pedestrians.
- More than doubling the size of the 30,000-square-foot Alumni Hall. Additions to the north, northwest and east sides of the building would hold two athletic courts, expanded locker room, training and support facilities and a fitness center.
· Improving the existing soccer field, including grading, new turf, interim seating, restrooms and a concessions building.
"We're also considering a stadium with artificial turf to allow us to use it for multiple sports," Calareso said, noting Ohio Dominican may add intercollegiate football within the next few years.
- Transforming historic Hamilton Hall into a Great Hall for group study, technology and reading. A linear building could be erected to connect Hamilton to Spangler Library.
- Building two student residences, one in 2004 and the other in 2006, to meet a projected need for 500 to 600 more beds.
Ohio Dominican University's enrollment stands at 2,317, Calareso said, an increase of 120 students from fall 2001.
But just 349 students live on campus. The school wants to increase that number to nearly 1,000 students by 2007.
It is also aiming to lift the number of traditional-age students - those in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket - from about 1,200 today to 2,500 five years from now.
There would also be about 1,250 adult learners, taking overall enrollment to 3,750 students in 2007.
"That has real facility and programmatic implications," Calareso said.
Ohio Dominican's trustees will meet in February to consider a fiscal plan to pay for the capital projects, he said.
Calareso sees the work being financed in part by growing tuition revenue from the projected enrollment gains. University officials are also looking at bond and loan programs, as well as targeted fundraising efforts for specific facilities.
The final two phases of the master plan include an addition to the Wehrle Gallery, seven more student residences, a fine arts and performing arts building, converting Sansbury Hall from a dormitory to offices and demolishing Fitzpatrick Hall, a circa-1965 dorm.
Elite goals
The master plan will help Ohio Dominican share its vision of becoming a preeminent Catholic university, Calareso said.
"We are not building a concrete jungle to accommodate our growth," he said. "We are building a campus that has a feel to it - a welcoming quality to it."
University officials think that approach is consistent with the philosophy of the 91-year-old institution's founders, the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs.
Sasaki Associates had to keep that in mind when it crafted the master plan, Bassett said. "There is a very strong culture there and a commitment to a certain learning style," he said.
"There is a lot of interaction and discussion among students and faculty. They see themselves as a tight-knit community and want to preserve that.
"The plan tries to bolster the values they have as part of their history," he said.
Sasaki is a planning, design, and architectural firm that has worked on a number of projects in Central Ohio. They include master plans for Nationwide Plaza and Ohio State University and being part of the design team for the Arena District. The firm has handled projects in Ohio for the University of Akron, Bluffton College and Ohio University.
"Based on their early results," Bassett said, "they seem to have a very good plan to manage their enrollment growth. They are soundly managed and have a chance to grow and increase their academic level."
Reprinted with permission. © 2002 American City Business Journals Inc.
