VisSpiro Strategies, a local planning firm, held a series of presentations Jan. 26 and 27, offering faculty, students, staff and stakeholders a glimpse of the evolving master plan for Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
The firm is now merging two different master plans, one created in 2009 by Marmon Mok and another drafted in 2012 by Alamo Architects, said company partner Christopher Rice.
For the new and rapidly growing campus on the South Side of San Antonio, the master plan for campus construction is now under examination and revision. Master plans often get looked at every five years, Rice said. And they can get overhauled as often as every 10 years as priorities change, he explained.
Rice served as designer for campus plans at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas State University, University of Texas at Brownsville and University of North Texas.
Together with his firm partner, Douglas Abraham, plans are being compared, and the best details will form a new development agenda that aligns with the university’s growth and future plans, Rice said.
The goal, he said, includes a more compact plan, and retains as many components of the master plan drafted in 2012.
The 2009 plan drafted by Marmon Mok Architecture was completed before there were any buildings on A&M-San Antonio’s permanent campus.
The 2012 Plan was generated by Alamo Architects, a San Antonio firm that worked on the infrastructure, landscaping and general feel of the campus during its first years. It was drafted before funding was appropriated for incoming first and second-year students, a term the university refers to as downward expansion.
The 2012 plan did not account for rapid growth or for additional student services facilities, such as the Center for Experiential Learning, currently underway. In addition, 40 new faculty will be hired to accommodate students; another factor the 2012 plan overlooked.
The master plan will include parking, green spaces, building and landscape design guidelines. That includes making use of the campus’ vast undeveloped natural areas. Planners looked at topography and have proposed an eco-zone that will accommodate water runoff by creating a series of tiered ponds useful to biology students.
As water flows through the ponds, sand and soil will filter and clean the water.
Beautification of the space would provide a peaceful area for everyone and give opportunities for science students to study native plant and animal species.
Student and Family Housing
The firm’s presentation included plans for dormitories and private-public development partnership in tandem with Verano, the land group that donated 700 acres to A&M-San Antonio. They own the land that surrounds the campus.
First, they covered the restrictions. Student housing will expand eastward because of a building restriction; residences can’t be located within a 3-mile radius of the Toyota plant.
Planners said they are also considering walkability. “We don’t want students to have to drive from the dorms to get to classes,” Rice said.
The first phase of housing planning by the firm began on Dec. 17, 2015, with the goal of opening housing by the fall of 2017. A private and public partnership will create housing surrounded by businesses, much like student housing at San Antonio College.
“I guess I have been curious as to how student housing would go. I want a general idea as to the growth of the campus,” business management senior Michael Mcgraw said.
“l want to know if students can have a space for extracurricular activities, like volleyball and basketball courts, Competitive Sports Coordinator Trevor Brunet said. “We need to provide a place for students to have something to do…to stay on campus.”
“I came here because of the tuition and because friends and family recommended it,” accounting junior Yarisa Ramon said. “It was very interesting, a lot of information I did not know about. It is nice knowing the plans they have for the next five to 10 years,” she said.
The firm also met with President Matson this week and a university steering committee to review priorities, including Matson’s goal to consolidate the university’s campuses from two to one. The university’s College of Business is housed at Brooks City Base campus. The revised master plan will bring A&M-San Antonio’s students and faculty together on one central campus.
