JONESBORO — Arkansas State University officials will no longer attempt to acquire a U.S. Army Reserve Center just south of the Jonesboro campus as a home for a new math and science program.
“After further evaluating the planned use for the building and in light of current conditions, we do not believe that the highest and best use of the property will be achieved through the implementation of programs which were set forth in our initial application,” ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson said in a statement Wednesday.
The university first applied for the Army Reserve Center on South Caraway Road on Feb. 14, 2007, with the intention of housing its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math center’s Math and Science Academy program. The property was declared surplus after the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act recommendations.
Jonesboro also tried acquiring the building early last year with intentions of converting it into a police precinct station. The competition for the building created some divisiveness between ASU and city officials, Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin said last year.
Since time had passed on ASU’s initial application, the U.S. Department of Education recently requested the university to submit an updated application.
Hudson, who took over as chancellor in May, said in a news release that the decision not to reapply for the center came after meetings with new ASU provost Lynita Cooksey, vice chancellor for finance and administration Len Frey and other administrators.
The university recently completed a campus master planning process that included the Army Reserve Center in some proposals. Original estimates said renovations to the facility would cost $118,000.
However, Frey said in the news release issued Wednesday that it would cost between $1 million and $1.25 million in renovations.
Hudson said he would support the city if it renewed its request for the building.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 11/15/2012