When the year 2000 came around, Elon University officials drew up a plan for how they thought the university should focus on growing for the next 10 years. In 2010, a new master plan — the “Campus Plan for the Second Decade” — was created to incorporate the last 10 years’ adjustments into the new goals of the university.
With the recent additions of the Global Neighborhood and the new Schar Hall, as well as the announcement of an expansion to the Love School of Business and a new convocation center, there have been many rumors about Elon’s plans to expand and establish a larger presence in the community.
While a steering committee worked with university partners and students to collaborate on the plan, the document was not meant to be a concrete course of action, but rather a guiding tool as the university began new projects.
“This Campus Plan is intended to be a working document, presented in loose-leaf format, so that the plan can be expanded and modified as conditions change,” the document states on page 6.
Just by looking at the multiple proposal drawings, there have been some obvious changes to the original plans.
Rather than building a new communications school on the McMichael parking lot, the addition is set to finish construction this fall next to McEwen. Instead, the new Love School of Business building will be built in the space near Colonnades Dining Hall.
The convocation center was originally planned to be built on N. O’Kelly Avenue near the University Drive entrance to campus, but the university announced earlier this year that it purchased 19.5 acres behind the Hunt Softball Park on Williamson Avenue.
The Park Place apartments on Haggard Avenue were also not included in the master plan, but are set to open for the 2016-2017 academic year.
The significant progress made by the university since 2010 raises the question of what is left to achieve now that we’re past the halfway point.
According to a model drawing of campus in the master plan document, some of the changes the university has yet to announce include new Colonnades and Danieley residence halls, additions to the sports complex, residence halls to the east of the tennis courts, a small expansion to the Center for the Performing Arts and an extension to McMichael.