The new nine-story University of Arizona dorm being built on the northwest corner of East Speedway Boulevard and North Campbell Avenue will increase the housing and population density of the area and likely bring down rent prices, some residents say.
However, some people living nearby said they were disappointed by the loss of retail and grocery stores that were part of the initial plan for the corner before the UA got involved and made it solely a student dorm. There are also mixed reactions to the UA reducing the dorm’s height from 19 stories to nine.
Will Givhan, left, the CEO of the Collegiate Housing Foundation, joins UA President Suresh Garimella and George Forristall, the vice president of real estate for Mortenson Development, at a groundbreaking event Tuesday for the school's new dorm being built at the corner of East Speedway and North Campbell Avenue.
“I live in this neighborhood and own another home here that I rent out, and I am perfectly happy with increased housing supply lowering rents,” said Mike Atwood, president of the Desert Mallow neighborhood where the dorm is going to be located.
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“This is an extremely high value area where rents have increased significantly over the last few years. I am not concerned with a very minor decrease in average rent prices,” Atwood told the Arizona Daily Star. “‘Lower rents’ can also mean different things. It does not even have to mean that individual landlords charge less rent, but perhaps that rate of increase of rent is less steep. That’s still good for renters and doesn’t really affect landlords that much.”
Over the years, Atwood said the Desert Mallow neighborhood association has been involved in discussions about construction projects on that property. Atwood said having the final construction project be a student dormitory was great, but having more than just students would have been nice.
Atwood said the Desert Mallow neighborhood has talked to the UA about integrating this project more into the neighborhood, including having a bike lane similar to the busy bike lane along Mountain Avenue.
Aaron Paxton, vice president of the Desert Mallow neighborhood, said he’s glad the construction project on this property is moving forward and in the spirit of improving housing in Tucson overall, it’s good to have more population density in their neighborhood.
The new dorm, which will be ready by the fall 2028 semester, is set to have a dining hall and will provide a modern space for students, according to official public documents on the project. While the site’s main use will be student housing, the project may include ground retail leases. A groundbreaking was held Tuesday.
The University of Arizona is building a new 9-story student dormitory with 1,300 beds and a dining hall on the northwest corner of East Speedway and North Campbell Avenue.
Atwood and Paxton said they weren’t sure why the dorm was reduced from its initially planned 19 stories to just nine stories now, stating their disappointment that the UA is not making full use of the construction opportunity on that property.
UA spokesperson Mitch Zak told Arizona Public Media in June, when the UA confirmed it was reducing the dorm’s height, that the reduction was part of their commitment to “being a good neighbor.” Zak also told the Star fewer stories will increase the capacity of the dorm from 1,200 beds to 1,300 beds.
The UA undertook the $250 million project to build the dorm in partnership with the nonprofit Collegiate Housing Foundation, or CHF, which will finance, build and operate the dorm. The project’s direct construction cost is estimated at $145 million, and the total cost of development won’t exceed $250 million.
The UA will have no debt obligation.
Construction has begun on the University of Arizona's newest dorm. The nine-story Catalina dorms will house up to 1,300 students by the fall of 2028.
The 2.49-acre new property will be combined with an adjacent UA-owned half-acre property to house the project. The UA estimates the value of the combined property at $27 million to $33 million.
Alan Myklebust, president of the neighboring Blenman-Elm neighborhood association to the east, said there was anticipation in their neighborhood when they’d heard about the “giant 19-story project” and there were meetings at the Ward 6 Councilman’s office. Many members of the Blenman-Elm neighborhood were opposed to such an “outlandish building and project”, he said.
“Primarily, it just seemed out of character with the area and people noted that, being so high, it would block visibility and cast a shadow even as the sun sets from the west on our neighborhood,” Myklebust said.
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.
Reporter Prerana Sannappanavar covers higher education for the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson.com. Contact her at psannappa1@tucson.com or DM her on Twitter.
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