There are multiple construction projects happening around campus and there are more to come in the near future.
The Wingate Apartment addition is set to be ready for students in Nov. of 2023. Applications will open in late Sept. to early Oct. for students who are interested in living in the new apartments.
Students who may not have been able to get a dorm placement at the beginning of the year will have the chance to get an apartment. Residents can even choose their roommates and room assignments.
The new Robison Theatre is set to open in Fall 2024 according to Colorado Mesa University (CMU) President John Marshall. The new building will have an additional 800-900 seats and features a taller stage with three levels.
“There will actually be three levels. So there will be the main level, be a club level and then there will be a balcony club level. In order to get that tall, and be able to maintain the kind of sightlines and the sort of quality of Broadway productions, you have to get a really tall stage,” Marshall said.
The Project will cost $53 million in total. The Colorado General Assembly Joint Budget Committee granted CMU $39.5 million while CMU invested $5.5 million and raised $8 million from private investors.
“The funding, which is the largest lump sum CMU has ever received from the state, will allow the university to continue to grow as a regional cultural destination as well as significantly improve the
assets available to future performing arts students,” CMU Public Relations Director Kelsey Dudley said in a statement on CMUnow.
The original Robinson Theatre will also be undergoing construction as well and will add practice spaces and offices for students and faculty.
The Capitol Development Committee visited campus on Aug. 10 to observe and make plans for the geothermal system. The committee of legislators decides where buildings can be built in the state of Colorado.
“In the coming year, we’re going to be putting somewhere between $6 and $8 million in the ground to expand our geo-exchange system. That puts us on a path to be the first campus in America that would be 100% heated and cooled with geo- exchange technology,” Marshall said.
The geothermal system is already in most of the CMU buildings, there is only a third left to go. The construction will be happening on the older building on campus.
Another project that is in a discussion phase with legislators is a potential expansion of Computer Science and Engineering.
Marshall stated that the Board of Trustees and his administration are dedicated to keeping tuition as low as possible despite the current and future construction. Projects like the geo-exchange system will end up saving money in the long run on other costs and CMU plans to find funds in grants and investors.
“You’ll see us continuing to be really aggressive about not just spending our cash on those things, but trying to find both state grants as well as private philanthropy to help pay for them,” Marshall said.
