The Beacon - April 19 - Issue 24

Page 1

And UP had a really, really, really good time

What are you breathing?The Special section, pages 11-14 Vol. 113, Issue 24

Living, page 7

BEACON THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Thursday April 19, 2012 www.upbeacon.net

A look into UP’s future

Neighborhood residents view elements of UP’s new master plan. The public information meeting was Tuesday in the Buckley Center.

Current

Kate Peifer | THE BEACON

University drafts master plan in anticipation of growth

Proposed

Graphics courtesy of Soderstrom Architects

Kate Peifer Staff Writer peifer14@up.edu At the end of May, UP will present the City of Portland with a new master plan that forecasts what UP might look like in 20 years. The plan anticipates needs of a potential student population of 5,000, a significant increase from the current population of 3,200 undergraduate students and approximately 700 graduate students. The proposed snapshot of the plan is the first step to solidifying the 35-acre expansion of campus, including the River Campus

below the bluff. Potential new projects include an environmental science laboratory, more student housing, additional parking, a shallow water habitat for juvenile salmon, softball fields and a track. According to Assistant Vice President of Community Relations and Special Projects James Kuffner, the University is using the plan to gauge the future of UP’s campus. “We recognize that you can’t predict what something will be like in 20 years but it gives you a benchmark to work with,” Kuffner said. The master plan will allow

the University to meet the needs of the student population that has increased on average by 2.8 percent each year in recent years. “We are able to measure the impact of a 3,800-student population and then measure an increase to 5,000 students to determine those impacts,” Kuffner said. “We can then address this increase by adding parking, mitigating traffic and so forth to the needs that arise.” According to Kuffner, the plan was created to allow flexibility for the University’s needs without designing specific buildings or arranged lots. “We don’t specify any

particular buildings in order to be able to meet the needs of the growing population as needed,” Kuffner said. “We can then select the project that is most needed and the University has always had the goal of residency on campus and new dormitories would be a part of any new development.” The master plan encompasses all uses related to the University including administrative, academic, recreational, residential and commercial. “Considering all of the forced triples they’ve had to implement, it would make sense to add more dorms if they’re going to expand,” sophomore Liz Randazzo said.

The possible need for more residences on campus concerns surrounding neighbors, about two-dozen of whom attended an informational meeting in Buckley Center Tuesday night. Neighbor Stacy Mercer is concerned about the master plan since it allows buildings within campus to be up to 75 feet tall. “I live on Warren, where my husband’s father and grandfather built our house in 1948,” Mercer said. “It’s a family home so my concern is that I’ll be staring at a giant door across the street.” See Plan, page 3


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