By
Emily Severson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
700-bed residence built with creating a community in mind
The lowest bid may no longer be able to get a building contract with the UA.
The University of Arizona will now select a contractor based on qualifications instead of the lowest bid, which has been used in the past, said Robert Smith, the director of facilities, design and construction.
The construction-manager-at-risk process is a new way of delivering projects recently approved by the Arizona Board of Regents. It will allow the UA to select a construction manager to assist with the design and the construction of the project from the very beginning, including working with architects, Smith said.
The Highland District Area, at East Fifth Street and North Highland Avenue, will include a residence hall, Campus Health Services, the Disability Resource Center and a 1700-space parking garage.
"This will allow us to fast-track construction because we can use the construction manager to assist with a shorter schedule to start building early," Smith said.
This process has been used at other schools across the county and will enable the university to build in phases, beginning construction as plans are being made. Phase One is part of the dorm and will be ready for fall 2002 occupancy, said Melissa Dryden, the public information coordinator for UA Facilities, Design and Construction.
The southern part of the area will be constructed first.
Construction will start in Spring 2001 and the entire dorm should be finished by fall 2003, she added.
The residence hall will be built with the idea of creating a community for students, and will have only three to four stories with multiple reception desks. The design will be similar to La Paz Residence Hall.
The UA has recommended to the architect that a high-rise would not encourage a sense of community. Therefore, they have recommended a design that clusters people together with group gathering areas, Dryden said.
"This design would give students more opportunity to interact with each other," she said.
The problem with a high-rise building is that it treats a big group of students as one big group, said Jim Van Arsdel, director of Residence Life and University Housing.
"We know people deal with communities better in small groups or groups of groups, usually friendship groups form in a range of about eight to 12 people," Van Arsdel said. "We built La Paz to encourage friendship groups."
Van Arsdel said he would like the new dorm to have private areas for students to congregate.
"We want to build spaces that feel private, so that students can always find some place where they can be alone outside of their room," Van Arsdel said.
The whole community idea of the building would also include having small businesses that cater to university students.
"We want it to be comfortable and safe," said Alexis Hernandez, associate dean of students. "We are very excited about the development."
The design will also be sensitive to the surrounding desert area with open courtyards and lots of outdoor space, Dryden said.
The company drawing the architectural plans for the project is AR7-HooverDesmondArchitects based in Denver. They had their first meeting with the university on Sept. 30 and are just starting the process, said Steve Schonberger, a project manager of the Highland District Area project and representative from the architect firm.
The UA has made various recommendations about what is important for the project, but the design process has not started yet.
"It has not been determined what recommendations will be included in the project," he said.
The actual planning of the design will probably take about 18 months, said David Duffy, the director of UA Campus and Facilities Planning.
HooverDesmondArchitects also designed the UA's Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building and the Environmental and Natural Resources building.
