UHCL strategizes 10-year master plan
The University of Houston–Clear Lake has launched a new master plan initiative for the Clear Lake and Pearland campuses.
UHCL’s master plan website states, “The master plan will link the University’s academic mission and strategic priorities with the physical development of the campuses.”
The master plan is based on a student population of 15,000 students with the expectation that it will be closer to 12,000 students. The plan will address issues such as parking, outdoor life/activities, walkways and on-campus living.
There were seven master planning firms that responded to UHCL’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Eight UHCL employees evaluated the seven submissions and contacted three firms for a face-to-face meeting. The final decision was to use Page.
“Page Southerland Page (Page) was selected as the most qualified for the UHCL master plan project based on the establish criteria of 1) Relevant project team and individual team member experience and capabilities, 2) Quality of previous master planning services, 3) Methodology, work plan and schedule, 4) Financial stability, 5) Approach to this campus master plan, and 6) Quality and responsiveness to the RFQ” said Blessy Sheena Abraham, administrative secretary for the master plan.
Page, an architecture company from California, held an open forum that was held in the Garden Room March 7 to share the results of a survey taken in February.
A web-based survey was sent to students, faculty and staff to determine how the campus is currently being used and to generate ideas for the future. The survey had 1,174 total responses from students, staff and faculty. The survey asked questions such as: “Where do you consider to be the heart of campus life,” “Where do you typically eat on or near campus,” and “Which outdoor spaces would you like to see.”
Students noted in the survey that they would like to see more student-center areas at UHCL including a café or food venue, a lounge or social spaces, recreation and fitness areas, and more study spaces.
The top 3-5 physical planning issues the master plan needs to address include: more parking, covered walkways between the Student Services and Campus Building and the Bayou Building, as well as another covered walkway over the park/bayou area.
“We’ve heard a lot of issues around parking,” said Andrew Sullivan, landscape architect for Page. “It’s a well-served university as far as the quantity of parking, but the distances and the harshness of the parking lot; the lack of trees, there are no pedestrian walk ways and such. I think it’s a harsh looking or feeling environment, so I think improving that experience might go a long way.”
Based on the projected enrollment of 15,000 students, Page recommends that there would need to be a total of 2.5 million square feet or 56 acres for parking.
With graduate and international student enrollment down, students may wonder how the master plan is going to be funded and how it’s going to affect UHCL’s budget crisis.
“We do take a look with the campus at its capital plan,” said Barbara Maloney, planning principal of Page. “The campus puts together what it’s wish list of projects is and its initial cost and things like that. We’ll try to help prioritize what the next round of projects should be for the next five or ten years knowing that we’ll be wrong on a number of them but we’ll at least be trying to set the campus up to be in line to get money for projects. It’s important but it’s not the most important part of what we do.”
The Master plan executive steering committee includes UHCL members: Zbigniew Czajkiewicz, Dean-College of Science and Engineering, Rick Short, Dean-College of Human Sciences and Humanities, Ted Cummings, Dean-College of Business, Mark Shermis, Dean-College of Education, Darlene Biggers, Associate Vice President of Student Services, Yvette Bendeck, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, Brian Stephens, Associate Professor, Glen Houston, Interim Senior Vice President Academic Affairs/Provost.
To get involved in the master plan, submit ideas or concerns to uhclmasterplan@uhcl.edu or check out the list of schedules and upcoming events on the campus website.
