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Volume 41, Issue 5
October 28, 2003
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October
28, 2003
Greater presence by MCC may help downtown Mesa
Kim
Hosey
Mesa Legend
"Presence report supports expansion of MCC on Centennial
Way"
Building a permanent MCC campus in downtown Mesa would help revitalize
the city and would benefit both students and residents, according to a
report released Sept. 5 by Hunter Interests, a consulting firm hired by
MCC and Mesa.
MCC currently serves the downtown area by offering courses and services
through locations on Centennial Way, at 145 N. Centennial Way, and at
Country Club and Brown, at 1025 N. Country Club Drive. However, the proposed
permanent MCC campus will offer much more than is available at the current
downtown locations or the main campus on Southern and Dobson and the Red
Mountain campus, according to Larry Christiansen, MCC president.
“The downtown campus will run programmatically, to fit and respond
to the downtown environment,” Christiansen explained.
He offered several examples of unique programs the downtown campus hopes
to offer.
The fire department being built in the downtown area offers possible opportunities
to enhance and expand MCC’s fire science program, Christiansen said.
The new Mesa Arts Center offers the same opportunity for theater students.
Both of these programs could benefit from dedicated efforts of ambitious
students, while offering valuable opportunities for experience.
The $30 million aquatics center in downtown Mesa offers opportunities
for physical education classes, competitive swimming, and even physical
therapy.
Christiansen is enthusiastic about the possibilities, and stressed that
he always looks for unique ways to improve options for students.
To analyze the proposed downtown development, Hunter Interests interviewed
35 people who play “key roles” within MCC and the Maricopa
Community College District (MCCD), and combined these interviews with
more than 100 previous interviews as well as data and information about
MCC and the downtown area.
The report supported the planned expansion of MCC presence in downtown
Mesa, citing, among other things, the need for additional space. The report
pointed out that MCC serves approximately 27,000 students. While community
colleges nationwide have about 100 square feet of space for each full-time
student, MCC has about half that amount, at 47 square feet per full-time
student.
“Given increasing population in the East Valley and increasing enrollment
in both credit and noncredit courses at MCC, demand clearly outstrips
supply and warrants the development of additional space,” the report
stated.
The report, which stated MCC sill need at least another 125,000 square
feet in downtown Mesa to launch a plan that will best serve students and
the area, outlined a tentative two-phase strategy.
The first phase calls for analyses of structures and land, acquisition
of necessary land and property, and construction planning. The suggested
phase includes buying the privately owned building at 165 N. Centennial
Way, which currently accommodates MCC’s Center for Public Policy;
adding 17,000 square feet to MCC’s Business and Industry Institute;
forming a cooperative with the Mesa Library and acquiring the Mesa Arts
Center for remodeling, including adding at least 20,000 square feet to
the center.
The second phase is the nuts and bolts of the plan; and will consist “primarily
of executing development plans that are formulated” in the first
phase, according to the Hunter report. In this phase, MCC would cooperate
with the library as well as the public school district, to develop, in
both cases, buildings projected to be between 40,000 and 80,000 square
feet and to cost between $7 million and $14 million each. Also, the report
suggests a parking garage to accommodate between 500 and 1500 cars.
The two phases are designed to overlap. The first phase is projected to
last from the present until approximately 2010, and the second phase is
scheduled roughly from 2005 to 2015.
The total cost for projected development is between $44.7 million and
$100 million, and will depend on funds MCCD hopes to generate in a successful
bond election in November 2004.
Christiansen is hopeful that development will start soon. “Assuming
a successful bond election, 2005 to 2010 would see the real emergence
of a campus downtown,” he said.
Christiansen said the goal is to accommodate 10,000 students downtown.
“These are the 10,000 students who would choose the programs that
would be in the downtown campus.”
Cooperation between MCC and businesses in the downtown area is crucial,
Christiansen said.
“With every business there’s a potential partnership,”
he said. “For example, the library has language training –
we could take that over or work with them in partnership. We would work
with the YMCA instead of opening the fitness center. There wouldn’t
be food services – we would support local restaurants and coffee
shops.”
Christiansen pointed out other advantages of development in downtown Mesa.
“The entire downtown is wired for Internet, so we don’t have
to pay that. Things like that allow us to invest in other things for the
students.”
The final Hunter report, which will include full recommendations, is scheduled
to come out early in December.
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