Forum focuses on ASU education college
By Caroline Monday
cmonday@mountaintimes.com

Appalachian State University invited students and members of the community to attend a forum on Monday afternoon to discuss plans for a new building for the Reich College of Education, slated to be built on the corner of Howard and College streets, near the existing student union and university library.

Among community members and the Boone Town Council, there has been some concern over the size of the building and the changes in zoning that have to occur before the academic building can be built.

Jim Deal, chairman of the ASU board of trustees, opened the forum, saying he hoped that the discussion would progress in a productive manner avoiding “the he said, she said.”

Deal said his observation has been that the question is not whether or not the college of education needs a new building. Disagreements that have arisen over the issue have rather concerned the matter of the building itself.

“The issue for us today is how do we move forward and plan for a college of education,” Deal said.

“There is no perfect location to build,” Deal said. Rather, the university has decided that the Howard street location is the best, if not perfect, option. Chancellor Kenneth Peacock echoed Deal’s sentiments, noting the growth challenges ASU and the entire UNC system are experiencing.

He said the university is exploring different ways in which to deal with these challenges.

These include off-site instruction at different locations throughout the surrounding counties, increasing distance education offerings, exploring the possibility of a branch campus in Hickory and moving courses and services away from the central part of campus.

In a presentation, Greg Lovins, interim vice chancellor for business affairs, presented the proposed plans for the new building and took the audience through other sites that the board had considered before deciding on the Howard and College streets site.

These sites include the current locations of Legends, East Hall, Wellborn Hall, the Raley Hall parking lot, Justice Hall, behind the CAP building, between the Broyhill Music Center and Walker Hall, and the Broyhill Music Center parking lot.

In considering all of these options, Lovins said the board considered factors, such as whether or not the construction would require the demolition of a viable building, the availability of utilities, easy access for construction and maintenance traffic, the building’s visibility and location in relation to the rest of campus, its location in relation to floodplains and how a building on that location would affect traffic patterns.

They selected the proposed site because of its good visibility and accessibility, its proximity to the library and student union, the availability of parking and utilities, the size of the site being large enough to accommodate a four story building and minimal site developments costs.

Lovins said construction on that site would also give them the opportunity to improve storm water drainage on that site. Cons for that site were the zoning restrictions and the lack of area for construction staging.

The presentation also included artist renderings of the building, showing the features of the building and how it might look in relation to existing structures in that area.

When the floor was opened up to public comment, town council member Janet Pepin asked whether ASU or other universities in the UNC System had considered mixed use construction, buildings that would house both residential and academic functions.

Cindy Wallace, vice chancellor of student development, said that the university had done that in the Living Learning Center. She said they were interested in doing more of that type of construction, but were limited by the large amounts of land such a facility would require.

Others asked why the construction would have to be of one large building, rather than two smaller buildings, and others asked about plans for sustainable construction and raised concerns over the change in traffic patterns.

Bryan Brooks, department chairman of Leadership and Education Studies, said splitting up the department would create a communication problem.

Deal said two small buildings, rather than one large one, would increase construction costs. Lovins said that while the building would not be LEED certified, measures would be taken, in the selection of building materials and affecting energy efficiency, to make the building environmentally friendly.

On the subject of traffic, Deal said he hoped that the university and the town could work together to assess traffic needs. Regardless, he said the university would have a traffic study done.

Mark Suggs asked how the current site would be used. Lovins said that Edwin Duncan Hall was in a floodplain and the ultimate goal was to turn that area into green space, perhaps incorporating it into the Boone Creek Project. Until then, the building will be used as “swing space,” where displaced departments can be placed as their own buildings are being renovated.

Others were concerned about the amount of green space around the new building.

Currently, there is no green space on that site and the new building would have a small buffer of green area on several sides, with benches and trees planted around the area.

Many community members who spoke pointed out that the building would not only affect ASU’s campus, but the entire town, in terms of traffic and walkability.

The construction will also lead to the demolition of apartments that had served mostly as homes for students, who would have to find housing somewhere else. All of these topics are ones university representatives said were being taken into consideration, but for which they could not offer a solution to at that time.

Mary Ruth McRae, a member of the Boone Area Planning Commission, said she hoped the town and university could work more closely together in the future.

She said the university seemed unwilling to have conversations with the town about planning.

“This seems like a long run decision made in the short run,” McRae said, adding the decision requires more joint discussion between the university and the town. “If you put the building there, the discussion is closed.”