DSM: Grand View University Expansion

[DMRyan]

A new student housing project will be built on the Grand View College campus, starting this fall. Not as large as the Drake project, but a little bit of infill on the northeast end of their campus.



Info from the Grand View wedsite:

Suite-style Housing

Grand View is strengthening its commitment to providing students an enhanced residential experience with the construction of a new student suite complex located between Hull Avenue and Boyd Street on the north end of campus. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday, October 17th at the site of the $4.7 million project. Target date for completion of the suites is mid-July 2007, just in time for students to move in for the Fall 2007 semester.

Dr. Jay Prescott, vice president for student affairs, explains that this is another step in the journey toward independence that students take from living at home to self-sufficiency. Grand View currently offers traditional single and double occupancy rooms, as well as four-to-six person campus apartments. These new suites will provide a bridge between the other options already available on campus. The suites may offer residents more privacy and flexibility than the traditional dormitory style residence halls, while still being a part of campus amenities including the meal plan.

The three-story 32,000 square-foot building will have 40 suites and 154 beds. Each suite will have two bedrooms, with two people per bedroom, as well as a living area and a bathroom. All residents will have access to a second floor laundry room. The suites will not have kitchens, so students living there will need to have a meal plan on campus. The building will also have an elevator and be handicap accessible, with two rooms on the first floor being wheelchair accessible.

[DMRyan]

Just to show off a little more of this small college of 1,800 tucked away in NE Des Moines, here are a few photos from their website and from the Assessor's site.

We really need to get our own photos for this website as well.

[Twiztid1]

And here's a proud Grandview graduate. Omaha people will find this hilarious.

[Ingersoll1978]

I can get some of DMACC-Ankeny.

[DMRyan]

Construction is coming along on this suites project. There's more in store for the future. Grandview is expanding and will be putting up a sizable, notable addition on the corner of Grandview Avenue and SE 14th Street. It will also include the vacation of Grandview to make it a pedestrian way for students, as well as new entry signage throughout the campus.

[DMRyan]

Here's the first of the large campus building expansion projects. This is a academic building that is slated to start construction in 2007. It looks like there will be a skywalk over E. 14th Street. This expansion, coupled with a future building expansion along E. 14th Street should give the area a little more of a college campus feel. You could drive right by Grandview now and not even now you're passing by a college.

Courtesy of FEH Architects:

[Village Park Villain]

Wow, DMRyan, that academic building for E 14th looks incredible.

[Cyclonefan]

How many students go to Grandview? Im curious to know if they are gaining student numbers every year, or losing.

[Young DSM Social Club]

Looks great! Grandview is a nice little oasis of attractiveness (and will be moreso with this) on a E. 14th corridor that definitely needs some improvement.

[DMRyan]

How many students go to Grandview? Im curious to know if they are gaining student numbers every year, or losing.

About 1,700 students go to Grand View, but I don't know how quickly it's increasing. It was a 2 year college in the 1970's.

[DMRyan]

The Student Suites addition is almost finished, and the Academic Building will be starting soon.

[DMRyan]

This building is a beautiful addition to the Grand View Campus. There's a project under construction right now to widen E. 14th Street, putting in new medians and pedestrian features, black light fixtures, etc. A future project would add a skywalk across the highway and make Grandview Avenue a central campus pedestrian node. This little area between Union Park and Grand View College makes for what is probably the coolest and most interesting little area of the east side this side of the East Village.

[Young DSM Social Club]

Grand View really is a gem for the east side. It would be nice if we could get continued overall improvement in the areas of East Village, Union Park, and Grand View, tying all of them together as all three have the history, culture, and architecture/quality buildings to really be an even stronger destination area for DSM.

[PlatonKarataev]

Side note-- Grand View College became Grand View University last fall.

[DMRyan]

Grand View University's expansion plans continue to impress me. If you haven't been in this area lately, take a drive through to see how the campus has been improving. They're single handily bringing more of an urban feel to their little corner of E. 14th Street, which I would typically lump into the category of one of the ugliest streets in the entire metro.

Check out their expansion plans, which would include new senior housing, and the addition of 2 levels to their student center to mimic the beautiful Rasmussen Center that was recentely completed across the street. Note the long range plans for the skywalk over the street. One entity has made an identifiable district where not much of one existed just a few short years ago. Go Grand View!

Renderings courtesy of Shiffler & Associates and Grand View University:

New student housing, which should be the next phase to start construction:


Down E. 14th Street:

[Young DSM Social Club]

Way to go! Grand View also buried the power lines on E. 14th and it looks so much better. It really is a wonderful oasis on a street that is really pretty hideous. I know they don't pay property taxes, but I hope they keep expanding. None of E. 14th is really a good place for houses.

[dogbo]

Agreed! Very nice!!

[DMRyan]

Here's a few shots of the new student housing building, which gives some great street presence along E. 14th Street. It's going to be the elephant in the room compared to the rest of the east side of the campus as shown by the 2nd photo.

[dsmurbanite]

Looks good, but one note. In several of our neighborhood meetings in HP-we have residents that live just north of there in our association-it has come up that there is a real lack of parking. I would suggest they remedy this but I shudder at the effect it will have on the area around there. I understand E 14th is not as attractive as say West Town Parkway, E P True, or Mills Civic, but I fear that clear cutting the areas off E 14th are going to have an effect on the area, and not in an overall positive way. Perhaps a parking structure or two, tucked behind, would be in order?

[Ingersoll1978]

Looks good, but one note. In several of our neighborhood meetings in HP-we have residents that live just north of there in our association-it has come up that there is a real lack of parking. I would suggest they remedy this but I shudder at the effect it will have on the area around there. I understand E 14th is not as attractive as say West Town Parkway, E P True, or Mills Civic, but I fear that clear cutting the areas off E 14th are going to have an effect on the area, and not in an overall positive way. Perhaps a parking structure or two, tucked behind, would be in order?

How about allowing parking on E 14th? With a streetscape project, this could really calm traffic along this stretch of E 14th.

[dsmurbanite]

How about allowing parking on E 14th? With a streetscape project, this could really calm traffic along this stretch of E 14th.

I agree, that would be great, but not a sufficient supplement for permant parking options for the students. I do agree however, there a couple of streets in this city that could use the on street parking option, including Euclid in the HP/OP area. I would completely support that, like they do on 6th in Riverbend and other places. I understand the need for free flow of traffic, but if it only means they drive through the area and don't stop, then I say lets make it a little bit harder and "encourage" their use of our excellent freeway system.

[DMRyan]

Update of the Grand View student housing building under construction.

[Downtown Ryan]

Work is continuing at Grand View as we speak. Four houses are currently being torn down by the student center in order to make way for more parking. This project should be a mini step towards the proposed student center expansion.

[DMRyan]

They're student housing project is now finished and all filled up. Sounds like Grand View is growing fast enough that they already need to consider additional housing. They're already planning a few additonal projects that will expand and hopefully continue to improve their campus.

[DMRyan]

Grand View is adding a pretty sizable 4 or 5 story addition to their existing dorms on Hull Avenue. They continue to churn out about one major construction project a year up there, and good to hear that enrollment is growing enough to cause all of this growth.

[casbern]

Grand View is adding a pretty sizable 4 or 5 story addition to their existing dorms on Hull Avenue. They continue to churn out about one major construction project a year up there, and good to hear that enrollment is growing enough to cause all of this growth.

Is that skywalk ever going to be completed from the rendering?

[DMRyan]

That's still in the works too, along with a large expansion to their student center. Probably still a year or so off though.

[casbern]

That's still in the works too, along with a large expansion to their student center. Probably still a year or so off though.

That'll make that campus feel completely different.

[DMRyan]

New dorm addition at Grand View, up on Hull Avenue:

[Emil]

Minor:

The university this spring will also construct a pedestrian mall and plaza on Grandview Avenue between East 14th and East 13th Streets, and will begin renovating science labs and other facilities, Bamford said.

http://businessrecord.com/Content/Desig ... /241/55978