The University of Arizona has reduced the height of the new dorm planned on the northwest corner of Speedway and Campbell from 19 stories to nine.
The new plan also calls for an increased capacity of 1,300 beds, up from the originally projected 1,200, UA spokesperson Mitch Zak said Tuesday.
The dorm is still scheduled to open in the fall of 2028 and to include a dining hall.
"The reconfigured plan makes more efficient use of the property and also allows us to increase the new dorm's capacity," Zak said.
A rendering of the original plan for the dormitory to be built at the northwest corner of Speedway and Campbell, with an 8-story portion and a taller portion that was expected to be 19 stories. The UA now says the dorm will have 9 stories rather than 19, but has not released a new rendering.
The UA undertook the $250 million project in partnership with the nonprofit Collegiate Housing Foundation. When the project was originally announced in February, its direct construction cost was estimated at $145 million, and officials said its total cost of development would not exceed $250 million. Zak did not respond to questions about whether those figures have changed.
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The 2.49-acre property, where the Palm Shadows Apartments sat until they were recently razed for the dorm construction, will be combined with an adjacent UA-owned property of .5 acre to house the project.
The former Palm Shadows Apartments on the northwest corner of East Speedway and N. Campbell Avenue were demolished to make way for University of Arizona’s new dorm.
Mike Attwood, president of the neighborhood association in Desert Mallow, where the dorm will be located, said he's glad there will be an increase in students, but is slightly disappointed in the height drop.
"We have really never been that concerned about the size, even when they said it was going to be 19 stories," Attwood said. "I think some people might have even felt a little bit of pride to have had such a tall building in our neighborhood, something pretty unique in Tucson."
Attwood also said he wished the university was more accessible to community members to contribute input and said community members received limited communication.
"Everything that we know about it comes from the newspaper," he said. "We learn about it at the same time as everyone else."
Alan Myklebust, president of the neighboring Blenman-Elm neighborhood association to the east, said he thinks the height cut is a positive development.
"The shadow that it would cast now and the visibility of the views would be much less of a problem," Myklebust said.
He said the university has been involved with neighborhood association meetings, with representatives attending a meeting in April. Community members addressed what they hoped the building would look like, parking concerns and height fears, which were met with positive responses, Myklebust said.
"There were questions about whether there would be opportunities for the community to be a part of that building in any way, shape or form. There were questions about whether or not the students would have recreational activities there, and they talked about the fact that they would like to have the building be a lot like the Honors Complex around Park," he said.
The former Palm Shadows Apartments at the northwest corner of Speedway and Campbell. They were recently demolished to make way for a new dormitory for University of Arizona students.
"They also told us at the time they had not settled on the height. They knew that the original design was for 19 stories, but said that had not been finalized," Myklebust said.
Zak, the UA spokesperson, told Arizona Public Media this week, "It will be nine stories as opposed to 19, and that's also part of our commitment to being a good neighbor."
The new dorm is part of UA’s effort to ask first-year, full-time students to live in on-campus housing. UA President Suresh Garimella said at an Arizona Board of Regents meeting in February that a new, modern dorm will help UA retain and graduate students.
According to at least one study, there is a 50% higher graduation rate if students live on campus at least one year rather than living only off-campus, Garimella said.
UA has the capacity for more than 7,200 beds in existing residence halls, but will be decommissioning some older dorms with costly maintenance needs. The university expects 6,000 on-campus residents from its first-year class this fall.
