Comprehensive campus plan proposes a university-wide facelift to connect outskirts of campus to rest of university

Plans for beautifying and expanding the UA Campus were presented to representatives from universty departments and colleges yesterday afternoon.

The Comprehensive Campus Plan, a 15-year plan for expansion of the university, was adapted by the Arizona Board of Regents in April 1988 and is currently being updated.

The proposed update calls for changes including the addition of more courtyards like the one at the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building, 1130 N. Mountain Ave., and more connecting walkways and parking garages over the next 15-20 years.

The most controversial part of the plan is to add two "L" shaped buildings, possibly undergraduate housing, to the entrance of the Mall at Campbell Avenue.

Adam Gross, a representative from the Ayer Saint Gross Campus Architecture and Campus Planning Consulting Firm, which was commissioned by the University of Arizona to draw up plans, said this would make the eastern entrance into the university more distinct.

Gross said one of the main goals of the entire plan is to better connect the University's outlying areas.

In order to make the Health Sciences Center more accessible, the plan is proposing a "new mall" that would replace Warren Avenue and connect the Health Sciences Center to the original Mall, Gross said.

Proposed changes to the Health Sciences Center include a diagonal walkway that would connect it with the Highland Avenue underpass.

"The U of A is like its own little city, and I like the idea of connecting it more," said Nisreen Tawill, a molecular and cellular biology freshman.

The plan will also call for additions to the College of Business and Public Administration and Law Colleges, including graduate student housing.

"The (graduate) housing is great because it is so hard to find housing especially for (graduate) students," said Mar“a Alejandra Rodriguez, a master's student in international law.

While the plan involves a 15-20 year window and the Department of Campus and Facilities Planning anticipates a few budget cycles in between, some students, like elementary education junior Keri Ravenscroft, remain concerned about the cost.

"I think the changes sound really good," he said. "But it seems that with the money tight right now, they should be concentrating on not taking away classes. It is like they are looking towards the future but ignoring right now."