Valpo to Buy Porter Hospital: News Conference Monday

[VULB#62]

I'm going to be there and will report back as much info as I can. I'm sure other posters will do the same.

Historyman  -- when you come back from the presentation could you start a new string?  This new material IMO deserves it.  The anticipation at this point is killing me 

[wh]

VU to unveil master plan this week
By James D. WOlf Jr. Post-Tribune correspondent September 15, 2012 11:26PM

Updated: September 16, 2012 2:00AM

VALPARAISO — Valparaiso University plans to unveil its campus master plan for the next 20 years on Thursday, including what the school will do with the former Porter hospital on LaPorte Avenue.

The college is inviting anyone interested to come view the master plan at a public forum from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Harre Union's ballrooms at 1509 Chapel Drive.

University officials are being secretive about specifics of the plan that will direct the school's next two decades of physical growth, with a news release stating only that "this plan will contribute to the long-term social, economic and environmental prosperity of the University and surrounding community."

But Janet Brown, co-chairman of the master plan development task force, confirmed the master plan will address uses for the hospital building and for the land the university owns around the current campus, some across Sturdy Road.

"That will be a part of the unveiling," Brown said, but she would not give specifics.

Consulting firm JJR of Chicago helped develop the plan, which has been in the works since last fall, putting together intensive focus groups of students, staff, city leaders, residents and anyone interested, then submitting and revising ideas based on those, she said.

This plan will only address the physical campus, planning for space, organization, academic program needs and landscaping —where to grow, where to put facilities and what the campus will need.

One of the needs is how to deal with the projected growth of more than 4,000 students this year to more than 6,000 in the next decade.

That goal is part of the strategic plan VU adopted three years ago and reviews each year, Brown said.

[VULB#62]

Big day tomorrow.

[historyman]

I hate to tell everyone, especially VULB#62, this but I had a procedure done on an ingrown toenail and it's really hard to walk at all right now. So I will not be attending the conference tomorrow (9/20/12). I hope someone else can make it.

[VULB#62]

   Oh no, hung up by a hang nail!!!  That can be painful.  Take care!

[covufan]

I hate to tell everyone, especially VULB#62, this but I had a procedure done on an ingrown toenail and it's really hard to walk at all right now. So I will not be attending the conference tomorrow (9/20/12). I hope someone else can make it.

Amazing how much you need your Sgt. Hulka!

[VULB#62]

Hope somebody went.

[vufan75]

Not much info yet, but, an article from the Post-Trib tonight that I ran across...

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/15274102-417/valparaiso-university-peers-into-the-future.html

[swiftmutiny]

I was at one of the meetings today, and the campus is going to look really nice once everything has been implemented. I'm not going to go into much detail because they said that tomorrow there will be a release on the website with pictures and information.

[vu72]

Well, I expect much more on this tomorrow.  What I could make out was that the fieldhouse will not be on the visitor side of Brown but set back near the west side of the hospital site.  this make some sense as I heard President Heckler said that they wanted to knock down Miller to give a clear view of the football field from the road.

It should be an interesting next few days...

[wh]

A little more substantive article from the NWI Times:

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/vu-master-plan-anticipates-years-of-growth/article_01be0eef-e5fd-58bf-9e0c-5f3562af18b9.html

[VULB#62]

I zoomed in right away on the plot plan from the Post Trib article and could make out the BB diamond across from the ARC, a new Track    , the field house, and soccer stadium.  I liked the idea that Brown Field is left visible from the road, but that means to me that if you're gonna show it off, it better be upgraded, attractive and impressive     I'm also impressed that the comment came from President Heckler.  He's really into this thing.  Couldn't tell from the plan what is intended for ARC expansion though.  In addition to obvious basketball seating expansion/upgrades, my guess is it would include moving football operations (offices, meeting rooms, locker space, weight rooms, etc.) from Kroencke, which is going away to make room for the diamond).

Can't wait for the release.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

President Heckler said that they wanted to knock down Miller

Miller = already KNOCKED.  Drove by when I was back home a couple weeks ago.

[wh]

I zoomed in right away on the plot plan from the Post Trib article and could make out the BB diamond across from the ARC, a new Track    , the field house, and soccer stadium.  I liked the idea that Brown Field is left visible from the road, but that means to me that if you're gonna show it off, it better be upgraded, attractive and impressive     I'm also impressed that the comment came from President Heckler.  He's really into this thing.  Couldn't tell from the plan what is intended for ARC expansion though.  My guess is it would include moving football operations (offices, meeting rooms, locker space, weight rooms, etc. from Kroencke (which is going away).

Can't wait for the release.

Presumably, upgrading our basketball venue would be a given in any 20-year plan.  Hopefully, there is more substance to this than just "here's a list of things we would like to do over the next 20 years, if and when we get the money". 

[vuweathernerd]

President Heckler said that they wanted to knock down Miller

Miller = already KNOCKED.  Drove by when I was back home a couple weeks ago.

they started that back in late june. by the time i got there in early july, it was mostly an empty hole with some rubble still hangin around.

[VULB#62]

I checked with VU media relations and only got a couple of images -- One a map and another a 3-D projection.  They don't yet have any documented descriptive details to share. The jpgs were over 12 MB each so they can't be attached to this post    .  But in both, they show much more clearly than the gallery in the papers, the athletic area that shows ARC expansion, Brown Field with track, the field house, soccer stadium, the baseball diamond and an athletics area parking structure.  Some interesting notes: visualize a narrow street running east behind the ARC, crossing McIntyre continuing just beneath the softball diamond to the N-S road that parallels Scheele.  Also consider LaPorte Ave heading west and taking a 90 degree right turn just after McIntyre to Lincolnway at Roosevelt. So, Brown Field to Lincolnway will be all playing fields.  South of the ARC, Kroencke, Heidbrink, Arts and Psych building and Dickmeyer make way for the BB diamond.

I was surprised to see Wehrenberg, Brandt, Lankenau, Scheele totally replaced by what look like very nice, larger residence halls in the style like Guild and Memorial and the addition of two similar style buildings called suite style residence halls - one by the tennis courts and another just below Guild/Memorial.  Three big parking structures are visible - one behind the union, one by the new field house and one amidst the new residence halls (that might already exist?).

Mutiny, anything to add from what you heard at the presentation?

[vu72]

where are the frats houses located and are they envisioning sorority houses or are they staying with the Sheele model?

[VULB#62]

Along Union just west of the ARC and the map said "Greek Housing".  There are only four smallish buildings shown.

Here's the VU release:
http://www.valpo.edu/news/news.php?releaseId=4775

Greek excerpt:  "The plan envisions offering Greek housing sites off-campus along Union Street near campus to provide for current housing needs and allow for expansion."

[Valpo2010]

Three big parking structures are visible - one behind the union, one by the new field house and one amidst the new residence halls (that might already exist?).

The one amidst the residence halls already exists, and the one in the athletic complex already exists as well.  This is part of the hospital campus and, as has been mentioned in several articles about the purchase of that property, will remain for athletics use. 

[wh]

Plan in hand, VU sets sights on new dorms
Phil Wieland phil.wieland@nwi.com, (219) 548-4352
Friday, September 21, 2012 4:36 pm


VALPARAISO | With a new master plan calling for possibly more than 20 new classroom buildings, residences and sports facilities costing tens of millions of dollars over the next 20 years, Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler and the board of directors have their work cut out for them.

The plan was unveiled Thursday but was adopted by the board in April. Heckler said the delay was because announcing it in May would have coincided with final exams and the fact most students and faculty already were focusing on summer vacation. In the meantime, the university has been involved in working on how to implement the master plan's vision.

Heckler said Friday he and the board will be meeting soon with the capital planning and investment committee and with the university's investment bankers to examine the projected financial models for the endowment funds over the next 20 to 30 years to try to figure out the best method to fund the expansion.

"We will determine what kind of projects to bond and build, what makes sense to finance through fundraising and what can be funded through student fees, such as the recreational facilities," Heckler said. "We will do an analysis of what the options are and which projects make sense for which funding mechanism."

The first building project is likely to be a new residence hall, which Heckler said the university could build on its own or have built and lease the space. He hopes to break ground next summer. The current residences were built in the 1960s and do not meet today's standards.

"They are all 100-year buildings and nothing short of a bomb will take them down, but the bad news is people's style of living changes and the buildings don't. They had showers down the hall when I went to school, but people are used to a private bed and bath now."

He said research shows the old style of communal living with two to a room and the bath down the hall results in a higher propensity for students to advance to the second year of study because they are forced to socialize and become more engaged in the campus community. That tendency declines in succeeding years, he said.

"We will keep a certain percentage of the residency space in that stock, but we should give students incremental steps toward independence. By the time they are seniors, they have an apartment with a kitchen and they are dealing with their own upkeep and are ready to step right out into the world."

The first dorm will be a suite style "somewhere between what we have and Uptown East," he said. The board also is looking at the academic side of the plan and which building should be given top priority. He expects another major fundraising campaign soon for that building. Then it will be on to the athletic facilities and the best way to fund them.

"If we get those three things done, we will have some breathing room on how to proceed after that," Heckler said. "What we can't predict are the targets of opportunity that might open up. We are making our best guesses on the basis of anticipated needs. We can't predict what might emerge as a need 10 years from now that we can't imagine today.

"No doubt there will be some surprises and opportunities that happen along the way, but we've got this general framework to guide us. After a time, it will be interesting to look back and see what we got done. Little by little, we will whittle away at it."

[VULB#62]

Plan in hand, VU sets sights on new dorms
Phil Wieland phil.wieland@nwi.com, (219) 548-4352
Friday, September 21, 2012 4:36 pm


VALPARAISO | With a new master plan calling for possibly more than 20 new classroom buildings, residences and sports facilities costing tens of millions of dollars over the next 20 years, Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler and the board of directors have their work cut out for them.

The plan was unveiled Thursday but was adopted by the board in April. Heckler said the delay was because announcing it in May would have coincided with final exams and the fact most students and faculty already were focusing on summer vacation. In the meantime, the university has been involved in working on how to implement the master plan's vision.

"We will determine what kind of projects to bond and build, what makes sense to finance through fundraising and what can be funded through student fees, such as the recreational facilities," Heckler said.

The first building project is likely to be a new residence hall, which Heckler said the university could build on its own or have built and lease the space. He hopes to break ground next summer. The current residences were built in the 1960s and do not meet today's standards.  "They are all 100-year buildings and nothing short of a bomb will take them down, [ I'll second that  ] but the bad news is people's style of living changes and the buildings don't. They had showers down the hall when I went to school, but people are used to a private bed and bath now."

The board also is looking at the academic side of the plan and which building should be given top priority. He expects another major fundraising campaign soon for that building. Then it will be on to the athletic facilities and the best way to fund them.

So, can we expect that the areas marked for change called "Athletics and Recreation" will be funded by a combination of student fees and fundraising?  The problem with the latter is exemplified by FITT.  We don't have a great history there. 

And  what is considered Recreation?  Field house and intramural fields?  The track? And what is considered athletics? ARC expansion and enhancement? Baseball diamond? Soccer stadium?  Brown Field Stadium and press box expansion/upgrade?  I hope the track is recreation so that it will finally get done soon.

[historyman]

Quote from: VULB#62 on September 22, 2012 at 07:16:22 AM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The problem with the latter is exemplified by FITT.  We don't have a great history there. 

I hope the track is recreation so that it will finally get done soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a comical but sad statement about the values held by Valpo towards athletics in the hodge podge efforts of the past few decades. It's certainly has been no "Field of Dreams" approach at all.

[valpotx]

The comment that new college students expect their own private shower/bath nowadays is a great example of the 'entitlement' attitude they seem to have.  I thought that my generation was spoiled, but it only gets worse after us!  I don't look forward to what my kids will be expecting at this pace...

[covufan]

They had showers down the hall when I went to school, but people are used to a private bed and bath now.

The comment that new college students expect their own private shower/bath nowadays is a great example of the 'entitlement' attitude they seem to have.  I thought that my generation was spoiled, but it only gets worse after us!  I don't look forward to what my kids will be expecting at this pace...

What do other schools provide or plan to provide in the way of dorms and bathrooms?  Are there high schools out there that provide private showers for after sporting events?  Where are kids getting this 'entitlement' attitdue?  I understand in general, but private bed and bath?  Seems isolationist and elitist.   

[valporun]

valpotx, by the time kids from people we went to college with get to college, they'll expect their own apartment/house with appropriate provisions for furniture, food, cable/internet, washer/dryer, and a deck for partying on. Heck, these will be the same kids who want college to be exactly what they see in the movies or on 'GLEE', instead of a new step in life that helps them learn what 'the real world' expects of them, not what they demand of 'the real world'.