Tarleton’s Campus Development Plan completed, released to public

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STEPHENVILLE (May 1, 2015) — Broaddus Planning, the firm engaged to prepare Tarleton State University’s Campus Development Plan, has completed the conceptual guide, which will assist the university in its efforts to meet the demands of a growing student population and physical plant.

“Last September, I let you know about the university’s effort with Broaddus Planning to update the Campus Development Plan. I am pleased to announce that the project has been completed,” said Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio. “We have a new five-year campus development plan that provides an excellent roadmap as we make decisions.”

The rapid enrollment growth at the Stephenville campus prompted the Broaddus Planning effort to update the previous campus plan in line with Tarleton’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020. The plan, only considering land that the university already owns, seeks to make the most efficient use of available space, since Tarleton has a limited ability to acquire property adjacent to the campus.

“The timing is propitious, as we are about to engage in a $20 million project to develop new pedestrian malls,” said Dottavio. “The new malls will make the campus a joy to walk. By providing wide, attractive sidewalks without vehicular traffic, we will create an environment that promotes walking and enhances the campus atmosphere and aesthetics.”

The pedestrian malls are a by-product of the university’s need to significantly upgrade its utility infrastructure, Dottavio said. The new malls included in the Campus Development Plan are intended to make connections between the Tarleton campus and the community, to fill voids between major buildings and to enhance pedestrian walkways.

The plan’s short-term objectives were to:
• Identify the site of the next academic building, for which Tarleton is requesting funding in this 84th Legislative Session.

• Expand Memorial Stadium seating by 10,000, creating a new west grandstand subject to funding and Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approval.

• Renovate pedestrian areas along Vanderbilt and Lillian streets, creating a new plaza east of Memorial Stadium and a new campus green space south of the O.A. Grant Humanities Building.

• Plan for an aquatics center with both indoor and outdoor swimming pools for the Recreation Sports Center, resulting from a student-approved athletic fee increase that also funded the expanded tennis courts and planned turf improvements for the intramural sports fields.

As outlined by the Campus Development Plan, the proposed academic building will aid in bridging the space between Tarleton’s campus core and the College of Business Administration building. Intended for Applied Sciences, the new 162,000 square-foot academic building would house state-of-the-art engineering and agricultural laboratories.

In addition, the plan also identifies sites for potential expansion beyond five years, including a second academic building at the curve on Washington Street as it passes Lillian. A site for a child development center also is pinpointed.

“A key component of the plan was to enhance existing iconic features and landmarks and to create new additions that would contain image-intense elements to become future landmarks,” Dottavio noted. “An example would be the new glass tower in the O.A. Grant Building and the amphitheater outside it.”

“The plan even addresses our agriculture center, suggesting sites for future facilities,” he added.

The university also recently engaged Broaddus to assist with planning the new 80-acre campus site in Fort Worth, located along the new Chisholm Trail Parkway. Broaddus has been tasked with devising a campus plan and facility program for the first building at Tarleton’s new campus, a proposed 125,000 square-foot facility that will cement a permanent presence in Fort Worth.

“Tarleton State University has an exciting new opportunity to plan for the future of higher education in Fort Worth,” said Stephen Coulston, president of Broaddus Planning. The Walton Group of Companies donated the 80-acre parcel for the campus to help meet the demand created by the rapidly growing population seeking affordable higher education in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Tarleton is the only four-year state university granting bachelor’s degrees in Fort Worth.

To view the completed documents, visit:http://www.tarleton.edu/renovations/documents/TarletonState_CampusDevelopmentPlan_BroaddusPlanning.pdf. A video documenting Broaddus Planning’s efforts in developing Tarleton’s Fort Worth conceptual master plan can be found at:www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Ez1K31VLo&feature=youtu.be.

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