Miriam Arias/ Staff Writer
Traffic lights, parking spaces, new buildings, more construction, incoming students— that’s what the University looks like in the next decade.
As the University continues to grow in population, the need for more buildings and parking spaces increases. The Campus Master Plan 2020 will focus on enhancing physical developments throughout the University’s campuses.
“We will be addressing issues reflected in the University’s Strategic Plan that represent student-centered learning, sustainability, wayfinding and circulation, architecture and landscape, which will help FIU meet its mission,” said Javier Marques, chief of staff to President Mark Rosenberg.
The Master Plan includes a 10-year plan and a steering committee made up of 13 representatives led by Marques.
“We are legally responsible for doing master plans,” said Steven Moll, vice provost of Academic Affairs at the Biscayne Bay Campus. “It gives the University an intelligent way of planning for its future.”
The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing the CMP 2020 process and making sure that University objectives are addressed. However, they are not responsible for running the activities themselves.
The Steering Committee will assign seven focus groups, each led by one representative from the committee.
The focus groups are: academic mission, academic program & academic and research facilities; Open Space, Recreation, Land Use, Conservation and Coastal Management; Urban, Architectural & Landscape Design Guidelines; Housing, Support facilities & Student Life; Infrastructure, Utilities, Maintenance; Transportation, Parking, Transit, Bicycle & Pedestrian; Inter-governmental Coordination, Advancement, Alumni Affairs.
Each focus group, made up of 10 to 12 members, will oversee its specific area and work towards enhancing and improving it. Faculty, staff, students and members of the Steering Committee can be assigned to these groups.
The initial process for the CMP 2020 will take 17 to 18 months, with students, faculty and staff encouraged to engage and participate.
“It will be an open and transparent public process,” Marques said.
The plan will include both internal stakeholders and external members of the community, the latter including the mayors of the City of Sweetwater and the City of North Miami, among others.
“I am excited about the opportunity to be involved with such a group of talented individuals throughout the University and external community as well as members of our student body which will ensure that we have broad based engagement and participation by all,” said Marques.
The Modesto Maidique Campus experienced continuous growth and construction during the past academic year, such as the addition of the traffic circle by the entrance on 107th Avenue and 16th Street, and the Academic Health Center 4 building that is currently under construction. Featured projects in MMC also include stadium expansion, the satellite chiller plant, which gives chilled water to the new Academic Health Center building, among other facilities, and the addition of Parkview Housing. The latter will create more residential housing for students, but also integrate a parking garage.
Moll explained the status of an additional entrance to the Biscayne Bay Campus. He noted that the President first proposed an opening of the 155th Street; however, the city wanted it to continue being closed.
“It would have been the least costly,” said Moll. “And the least ecological impact would be to go through 155th Street.”
The city commission had a unanimous vote of five to zero to keep the road closed.
The other option is to expand the road on 143rd Street. He confirmed there is the possibility of expanding the one-way street and converting it to a road. However, due to the location of this road, the action would have a detrimental ecological effect and destroy several mangrove trees in the surrounding area.
There are also many changes expected within BBC.
BBC has three main programs: the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Marine Biology. The campus has significant growth expectations in the following decade.
They expect the SJMC and School of Hospitality to double in their student size.
The School of Hospitality currently overseeing construction to create a two-story wine tasting center.
All construction is being paid through the efforts and profits of the South Florida Wine and Food Festival, which has raised over $1 million, according to Moll. The school expects one or two other buildings to be constructed under the master plan.
In contrast to the School of Hospitality, the SJMC has seen little growth over the years.
“It’s a lot harder to raise money for journalism because your primary funding sources are not doing as well as they used to,” Moll said. Creating an additional building south of the Academic Two building to create more office space for the school is being discussed.
Other prominent issues at BBC include the Bay Vista Housing and the core curriculum availability.
“We try to maintain them as best we can,” Moll said. A definite decision has not been made regarding housing, but Moll concluded saying it would be very expensive to tear them down.
As for the core curriculum, Moll explained that all core classes are offered at BBC, but there are not enough available sections. This creates a problem for students who reside in this campus and also for those who live near the area.
Moll said that the problem heavily relies on funding and said that in order to improve and expand, Universities need money and that is not so easily available.
“I don’t see that changing in the rest of my lifetime,” Moll said.
The CMP 2020 must first be approved by the Board of Trustees. This hearing will be held in December 2013. Miriam Arias/Staff Writer
Traffic lights, parking spaces, new buildings, more construction, incoming students— that’s what the University looks like in the next decade.
As the University continues to grow in population, the need for more buildings and parking spaces increases. The Campus Master Plan 2020 will focus on enhancing physical developments throughout the University’s campuses.
“We will be addressing issues reflected in the University’s Strategic Plan that represent student-centered learning, sustainability, wayfinding and circulation, architecture and landscape, which will help FIU meet its mission,” said Javier Marques, chief of staff to President Mark Rosenberg.
The Master Plan includes a 10-year plan and a steering committee made up of 13 representatives led by Marques.
“We are legally responsible for doing master plans,” said Steven Moll, vice provost of Academic Affairs at the Biscayne Bay Campus. “It gives the University an intelligent way of planning for its future.”
The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing the CMP 2020 process and making sure that University objectives are addressed. However, they are not responsible for running the activities themselves.
The Steering Committee will assign seven focus groups, each led by one representative from the committee.
The focus groups are: academic mission, academic program & academic and research facilities; Open Space, Recreation, Land Use, Conservation and Coastal Management; Urban, Architectural & Landscape Design Guidelines; Housing, Support facilities & Student Life; Infrastructure, Utilities, Maintenance; Transportation, Parking, Transit, Bicycle & Pedestrian; Inter-governmental Coordination, Advancement, Alumni Affairs.
Each focus group, made up of 10 to 12 members, will oversee its specific area and work towards enhancing and improving it. Faculty, staff, students and members of the Steering Committee can be assigned to these groups.
The initial process for the CMP 2020 will take 17 to 18 months, with students, faculty and staff encouraged to engage and participate.
“It will be an open and transparent public process,” Marques said.
The plan will include both internal stakeholders and external members of the community, the latter including the mayors of the City of Sweetwater and the City of North Miami, among others.
“I am excited about the opportunity to be involved with such a group of talented individuals throughout the University and external community as well as members of our student body which will ensure that we have broad based engagement and participation by all,” said Marques.
The Modesto Maidique Campus experienced continuous growth and construction during the past academic year, such as the addition of the traffic circle by the entrance on 107th Avenue and 16th Street, and the Academic Health Center 4 building that is currently under construction. Featured projects in MMC also include stadium expansion, the satellite chiller plant, which gives chilled water to the new Academic Health Center building, among other facilities, and the addition of Parkview Housing. The latter will create more residential housing for students, but also integrate a parking garage.
Moll explained the status of an additional entrance to the Biscayne Bay Campus. He noted that the President first proposed an opening of the 155th Street; however, the city wanted it to continue being closed.
“It would have been the least costly,” said Moll. “And the least ecological impact would be to go through 155th Street.”
The city commission had a unanimous vote of five to zero to keep the road closed.
The other option is to expand the road on 143rd Street. He confirmed there is the possibility of expanding the one-way street and converting it to a road. However, due to the location of this road, the action would have a detrimental ecological effect and destroy several mangrove trees in the surrounding area.
There are also many changes expected within BBC.
BBC has three main programs: the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Marine Biology. The campus has significant growth expectations in the following decade.
They expect the SJMC and School of Hospitality to double in their student size.
The School of Hospitality currently overseeing construction to create a two-story wine tasting center.
All construction is being paid through the efforts and profits of the South Florida Wine and Food Festival, which has raised over $1 million, according to Moll. The school expects one or two other buildings to be constructed under the master plan.
In contrast to the School of Hospitality, the SJMC has seen little growth over the years.
“It’s a lot harder to raise money for journalism because your primary funding sources are not doing as well as they used to,” Moll said. Creating an additional building south of the Academic Two building to create more office space for the school is being discussed.
Other prominent issues at BBC include the Bay Vista Housing and the core curriculum availability.
“We try to maintain them as best we can,” Moll said. A definite decision has not been made regarding housing, but Moll concluded saying it would be very expensive to tear them down.
As for the core curriculum, Moll explained that all core classes are offered at BBC, but there are not enough available sections. This creates a problem for students who reside in this campus and also for those who live near the area.
Moll said that the problem heavily relies on funding and said that in order to improve and expand, Universities need money and that is not so easily available.
“I don’t see that changing in the rest of my lifetime,” Moll said.
The CMP 2020 must first be approved by the Board of Trustees. This hearing will be held in December 2013.
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