UA bonds OK’d for building utility work

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville will soon break ground on the last major projects it will need to complete before it reaches its enrollment goal of 28,000 students, Chancellor G. David Gearhart said.

Work on those projects - a new classroom building, utility upgrades and the conversion of the Old Field House into a concert hall - will be financed with $62.5 million in bonds approved by the University of Arkansas board of trustees Friday.

The buildings will help accommodate larger course loads as UA reaches its enrollment goal. The state’s largest university had an official fall enrollment of 24,537 students, 27.9 percent more than it had five years ago, according to figures released this week by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

UA officials expect enrollment to reach 26,000 students next year, Gearhart said.

“We want to hit 28,000, but we don’t have any plans to go past that,” he said. “Nationally, they talk about things slowing down, but we haven’t seen it.”

As enrollment has grown, campus leaders have worked to remodel classroom and laboratory spaces in existing buildings, add residential space and overhaul Vol Walker and Ozark Halls. UA’s athletics program is also working on the first phases of a $320 million master facilities plan that includes new practice facilities and a proposed expansion of Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The new general-use classroom and laboratory building will alleviate about 75 percent of the expected classroom-space shortage the university will experience when it reaches its goal enrollment, a project proposal said. The rest of the shortage will be solved through online classes, extended hours and scheduling.

Athletic Director Jeff Long has pledged to use sports generated revenue to repay bonds for the classroom building by kicking in $1.25 million per year for 30 years, raising the Razorbacks’ direct contributions to academics to $2.25 million a year.

To replace the campus’s current 235-seat performing-arts space, the Old Field House will be converted into a 650- to 700-seat performing-arts center named for Jim and Joyce Faulkner, a Little Rock alumni couple who contributed $6 million to the project.

The estimated $17.5 million project will also be financed through UA reserves, additional private gifts and student facilities fees, Gearhart said when it was originally approved.

Construction can’t start on the performing-arts center until some architecture class space now temporarily housed in the Old Field House can be moved back to Vol Walker Hall after its renovation is complete.

Gearhart said he expects both projects to be finished within about 18 months of breaking ground.

Enrollment officials have seen indicators that UA will hit an all-time high in applications for fall 2013 enrollment, he said.

If enrollment grows to exceed the newly expanded capacity, leaders would likely begin limiting out-of-state applications, Gearhart said.

“We don’t ever want to turn away an in-state student if they’re qualified,” he said.

Bond financing approved Friday will also fund construction of a $12.2 million package that includes a new utility plant and storm-water upgrades to support new athletics facilities clustered on the west side of campus. Those bonds will be paid through fees, similar to municipal-impact fees that athletic facilities pay proportionate to their use of campus utilities.