SERA worked with Southern Oregon University to prepare a Campus Master Plan Update that will guide the campus from 2010 to 2020. The Master Plan Update establishes an overall framework and prioritizes development within the academic precinct of the campus, including expansion and renovation projects, as well as deferred maintenance projects for key facilities. The plan’s framework provides for a significant shift in the structure of the campus, to develop new housing to contemporary standards on the campus lands north of Siskiyou Boulevard. A public-private partnership model has been selected to develop new housing and, in appropriate areas, the housing would include mixed-use building types. (SERA is proud to be designing the first phase of this housing for SOU.)
Design guidelines within the plan will govern future campus development — both buildings and open spaces — to enhance the best qualities of the existing campus, and provide a more consistent character to future development. These guidelines also help ensure that new campus housing is appropriate to the surrounding residential neighborhoods, with an appropriate transition in density from the campus to the lower density residential areas.
The Master Plan Update concentrates on strategies to enliven the campus through active public spaces, increased student and faculty housing, and attention to the town-gown interface. It provides a framework for sustainability planning, recognizing commitments by the University and the Oregon University System to set aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts. This element identifies goals and potential strategies for both an Energy Master Plan and a Transportation Demand Management Plan to be developed.
