VIZZDA--November 7th, 2013 -- The city of Gilbert has
recently partnered with Chicago-based Saint Xavier University to develop a four
year liberal arts university within the city’s downtown Heritage District. The
new campus is to be constructed on city-owned property just west of Gilbert
Road on the north side of Vaughn Avenue, and will feature a built-to-suit
87,000 square foot, four-story building. At a minimum, the new university will
offer degree programs in nursing, business and education; it will eventually
expand with other academic programs.
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| View the Development Agreement here |
Gilbert will finance the design and construction of improvements at the site through the issuance of revenue bonds, and
will later enter into lease agreements for both the property and improvements
with Saint Xavier University to recover any costs of the new development. Once the lease term expires between the
two parties, Gilbert will be the sole owner of the building.
While the announcement of this
development was first made in August by various sources, the official
development agreement was only recently adopted at Gilbert’s formal Town
Council meeting on November 7th, 2013. By entering this agreement,
Gilbert and Saint Xavier University are now both obliged to meet certain
requirements set forth in the agreement, including a project timeline which
states that the university campus will be opened on or before January 2nd,
2015, and that all project designs are completed and approved by June 30th,
2014.
Details of a final project budget
are yet to be finalized by both parties. In addition to the development
agreement, the city of Gilbert has been taking other steps to successfully
implement the project, including a citizen review meeting for a text amendment
to the zoning code which, would allow public and private colleges as a
permitted land-use within the Heritage Village Center (HVC) and the Gateway
Village Center (GVC) zoning districts.
In an article
published earlier this year on Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s website,
Dan Henderson, Gilbert’s economic-development director, said, “A community that
has a high level of education attainment is vital to
building a workforce that can go to work and keep jobs in the community
and also in the region.” This will be increasingly important in the not
too distant future, as 2010
U.S. Census figures on Gilbert’s website indicate that there are nearly
55,000 persons between ages 5 and 19 (nearly ¼ of the population) that will
someday need to enter the workforce.
By:
Cody Weisel
Planning and Zoning Analyst
Vizzda.com
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