What's Hot

    Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

    May 28, 2025

    Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

    May 28, 2025

    JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

    May 27, 2025
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    AZBEX
    NEWS TICKER
    • [May 28, 2025] - Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort
    • [May 28, 2025] - Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development
    • [May 27, 2025] - JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project
    • [May 27, 2025] - $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing
    • [May 27, 2025] - Peoria Council Approves $1.9B 10-Year CIP
    • [May 27, 2025] - Industry Professionals 05-27-25
    • [May 27, 2025] - Commercial Real Estate 05-27-25
    • [May 23, 2025] - Laveen Towne Center Plan Advances, Expands
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    • Home
    • News
      1. View Latest
      2. Planning & Development
      3. Local News
      4. Classifieds
      5. Editorial Analysis
      6. Budgets & Funding
      7. Commercial Real Estate
      8. People on the Move
      9. Arizona Projects
      10. Legislation & Regulations
      11. Trends

      Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

      May 28, 2025

      Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

      May 28, 2025

      JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

      May 27, 2025

      $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing

      May 27, 2025

      EdgeCore 44-Acre Mesa Land Buy Sets Up Massive Expansion

      May 23, 2025

      Ariz. Construction Added 2,400 Jobs in April

      May 21, 2025

      Phoenix Considering Data Center Development Restrictions

      May 21, 2025

      City Engineers Stress Collaboration, Adaptability at BEX Public Projects Event

      May 16, 2025

      Glendale Voters to Determine VAI Resort’s Fate

      May 16, 2025

      Legislation Would Effectively Strip NIMBYs of Referendum Tool

      February 11, 2025

      2025 Forecast Tries to Clarify an Uncertain Market

      February 7, 2025

      KOREPlex Buckeye Site Quietly Listed For Sale

      January 31, 2025

      Peoria Council Approves $1.9B 10-Year CIP

      May 27, 2025

      Scottsdale Water Needs $50M for ‘Toilet to Taps’

      May 9, 2025

      Phoenix Releases $11.5B, 5-Year CIP with Nearly 1,000 Projects

      April 1, 2025

      Buckeye Starts Planning Bond Funding Outlays

      February 26, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 05-27-25

      May 27, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 05-20-25

      May 21, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 05-13-25

      May 13, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 05-06-25

      May 6, 2025

      Industry Professionals 05-27-25

      May 27, 2025

      Industry Professionals 05-20-25

      May 21, 2025

      Industry Professionals 05-13-25

      May 13, 2025

      Industry Professionals 05-06-25

      May 6, 2025

      Arizona Projects 05-23-25

      May 23, 2025

      Arizona Projects 05-16-25

      May 16, 2025

      Arizona Projects 05-09-25

      May 9, 2025

      Arizona Projects 05-02-25

      May 2, 2025

      Phoenix Considering Data Center Development Restrictions

      May 21, 2025

      Glendale Voters to Determine VAI Resort’s Fate

      May 16, 2025

      Executive Order Will Streamline Federal Acquisition Regulations System

      April 26, 2025

      Legislation to Save Axon Plan Continues to Advance

      April 16, 2025

      Ariz. Construction Added 2,400 Jobs in April

      May 21, 2025

      Backlogs, Confidence Increase in April

      May 16, 2025

      Multifamily Developer Confidence Down in Q1

      May 13, 2025

      U.S. Construction Added 11,000 Jobs in April

      May 6, 2025

      Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

      May 28, 2025

      Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

      May 28, 2025

      JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

      May 27, 2025

      $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing

      May 27, 2025
    • AZBEX
      • Subscribe
      • Classifieds
      • Advertising
    • DATABEX
      • Webinars
      • Monthly Snapshot
    • Events
      • Housing Projects on the Horizon
    • About Us
      • Meet the Company
      • Meet the Sales Team
      • Meet the Editorial Team
      • Meet the BEXperts
    AZBEX
    Home » Local News » Arizona Universities Talk Projects, Process at BEX LMS
    Local News

    Arizona Universities Talk Projects, Process at BEX LMS

    BEX StaffBy BEX StaffDecember 9, 2022No Comments7 Mins Read
    A capacity crowd attended the BEX Leading Market Series event on the Arizona higher education market Dec. 7 at SkySong. Credit: Roland Murphy/BEX Companies
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Roland Murphy for AZBEX

    The last BEX Companies Leading Market Series event of 2022 – Higher Education – was also one of its best attended as a sold out crowd filled ASU’s SkySong Building 3 Synergy II meeting space Tuesday morning.

    After a brief welcome from BEX President and Founder Rebekah Morris, moderator Cassie Robertson, Southwest regional prefab leader for DPR Construction introduced the panel.

    Appearing in person for Arizona State University was Alexander Kohnen, VP of facilities development and management. Attending virtually were Peter Dourlein, associate VP of planning, design & construction for the University of Arizona and Stephanie Bauer, assistant director of facility services for planning, design and construction at Northern Arizona University.

    Arizona State University

    Kicking off the panelist presentations, Kohnen said ASU has six projects headed to the Joint Committee on Capital Review for the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee in the immediate future. He stressed a great deal of ASU’s upcoming work focuses on projects dedicated to lab space to accommodate the university’s exploding student growth and demand in research-focused fields. ASU currently has more than $700M in funded research, he said, and needs space to deal with the volume.

    A Job Order Contract request focused on laboratory work is expected to come out in the spring, he said, advising attendees to be on the lookout.

    He also explained that the university’s student growth has contributed to already high demand for housing. Since ASU has a policy requiring all first year in-person students to live on campus, large volumes of students have been temporarily housed in area hotels for extended periods while they wait for space. Adding to the need is the fact that much of the university’s housing stock is out of date and in need of renovation to make it current and appealing.

    Lastly, Kohnen turned his attention to the ASU Polytechnic Campus in Mesa. The first building in the ASU School of Manufacturing Systems & Networks, Polytechnic Campus plan is currently in design, and the second, he said, is coming soon.

    University of Arizona

    Dourlein said the current year has been one of reemergence from the pandemic and focusing on growth. The current student body is approximately 52,000, while the research portfolio exceeds $800M and is projected to hit $1B.

    Much of Dourlein’s presentation covered the UA Capital Improvement Plan and Annual Capital Plan. Given that UA has a large number of old buildings that need upgrades, renovation and revitalization projects are front of mind for the university at the moment. Many projects in that space will be managed as JOCs.

    For larger projects, he said UA is leaning heavily on Design-Build delivery methods, although there may be Construction Manager At Risk projects as the need arises. “We’re having great success with Design-Build right now, so we’re continuing down that road,” he said.

    He then launched into a rapid-fire recap of projects included in the Annual Capital Plan that have not yet been awarded. These projects include:

    • A remodel of the Shantz Building, currently reviewing the submission,
    • Mining Mineral & Natural Resources Education Museum Renovation, expected to be announced in Q1,
    • Arizona State Museum Renovation RFQ is expected in Q1.

    Another project on the list and currently out for procurement is the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Food Products and Safety Lab Renovation and Animal Feeding and Resource Capture Facility.

    The first year of UA’s recent Capital Improvement Plan has no new projects, as most of the work was covered in the Annual Capital Plan. Dourlein again recapped several projects, noting that projects become moved from the wish list into reality when they receive funding.

    Projects included in his CIP recap included an overview of the UA Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies. CAMI has two buildings, one of which may be undertaken as a public-private partnership while the other, larger building will be a more traditional Design-Build delivery. CAMI will complete UA’s “superblock” in downtown Phoenix. The RFQ is expected in Q1.

    UA’s housing needs have generated two projects expected to release for consideration in the near future, one of approximately 1,000 beds and another of 800.

    The remainder of the projects and focuses Dourlein mentioned dealt with campus infrastructure, including:

    • Deescalating the use of historic Centennial Hall and creating a new 2,500 performing arts venue,
    • A new art museum, and
    • A new student engineering design center.

    Northern Arizona University

    When her turn came around, NAU’s Bauer told the audience the university is currently working on its first Campus Master Plan in 12 years. As a result, major capital project identification and planning are on hold until the master plan is complete.

    Future development focus will center not so much on adding new space, but rather in optimizing existing space and reconfiguring uses. The draft plan is expected for release in summer 2023.

    In the interim, the focus will fall on deferred maintenance, facility improvements and renovations. Most of those projects will be procured as JOCs.

    Q&A

    With time running short, Robertson pitched a series of quick questions to the panelists. The first question concerned what has worked and not worked in the universities’ project development and procurement efforts.

    Bauer said NAU needs contractors and design firms to be innovative and patient and to help guide the university around some of its historically self-imposed roadblocks. Dourlein agreed, saying innovation and adaptability are vital in managing UA’s projects. At ASU, Kohnen said the need is for better time management and understanding from providers that budgets are locked in place. He said providers need to explain how they will secure partners to complete projects.

    When Robertson turned to the audience for questions, the one that grabbed everyone’s attention was a request to explain how sustainability goals are impacting construction budget constraints.

    Kohnen said sustainability adds to costs, but that students demand it and it is part of the ASU brand. He added that there is, by necessity, a tradeoff between sustainability focus and program scope. “We’re going to have to start looking at the program and say, ‘Do we sacrifice sustainability or do we sacrifice program?’ We need direction from the leadership on which way that’s going to go. It used to always be program was sacrosanct. I think that’s going to shift this year.”

    Bauer said NAU has struggled with maintenance and is looking at how to manage the demand for improved sustainability while keeping projects on pace. She added that it is causing planners to focus more clearly on their future projects and new construction direction to achieve sustainability goals. “We have a lot of different ideas from our Climate Action Plan that we need to choose a direction on how we’re going to go. That will inform how, when we do go forward with new construction, what components will be in those buildings in the future.”

    Dourlein said UA is working on a comprehensive sustainability and climate action plan, which is focusing on decarbonization of the campus.

    “Some of the trends that I’ve noticed is the long-term cost of maintaining a building or heating and cooling it isn’t being benefitted all that much from getting the LEED certification. We’re already doing all that to a high degree. The LEED certification keeps escalating, and it’s adding cost that we’re not necessarily seeing benefit from. It’s probably sacrilegious to say, ‘One day we won’t build to LEED standards…,” but I think that’s part of the ongoing discussion and uncertainty.

    “We do need our buildings to be maintainable and cost-efficient over the long haul… I think there are some things that are evolving there that I don’t have an answer to that I think are going to impact sustainability and design and construction. It’s going to have to be a little more of a value proposition.”

    Alexander Kohnen Annual Capital Plan Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee Arizona State University ASU ASU School of Manufacturing Systems & Networks Polytechnic Campus BEX Companies CAMI Capital Improvement Plan Cassie Robertson CIP CMAR Construction Manager at Risk Design-Build DLR Construction Higher Education job order contract JOC Joint Committee on Capital Review lab space Leading Market Series NAU Northern Arizona University Peter Dourlein Public Rebekah Morris research space SkySong Stephanie Bauer Student housing UA UA Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies University of Arizona
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing

    May 27, 2025

    Peoria Council Approves $1.9B 10-Year CIP

    May 27, 2025

    EdgeCore 44-Acre Mesa Land Buy Sets Up Massive Expansion

    May 23, 2025

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    Our Picks

    Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

    May 28, 2025

    Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

    May 28, 2025

    JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

    May 27, 2025

    $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing

    May 27, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    Don't Miss
    Planning & Development

    Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

    May 28, 20250

    By BEX Staff for AZBEX Unofficial election results show Glendale voters apparently casting a split…

    Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

    May 28, 2025

    JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

    May 27, 2025

    $500M Whiteriver Hospital Preparations Advancing

    May 27, 2025

    BEX serves architecture, engineering and construction firms as well as all the ancillary product and service categories that market to them. These include manufacturing representatives, public agencies and private real estate organizations, specialty subcontractors and services providers related to our industry.

    Our Picks

    Split Vote Complicates Plans for VAI Resort

    May 28, 2025

    Safford Approves 165-Unit Multifamily Development

    May 28, 2025

    JDM Proposal Reimagines Biltmore Infill Project

    May 27, 2025
    Contact Us

    Phone: 480-709-4190
    Address: P.O. Box 12196 Tempe, AZ 85284
    Email: sales@azbex.com

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.