Trinity Master Plan Hosts Forum for Campus Improvement

By Katie Groke

Students Chris Soto and Marcella Reyes look at
alternative plans for the Trinity Campus
Photo by Katie Groke

Students, faculty, and staff gathered Tuesday to discuss possible improvements to the Trinity University campus, including parking, dorm renovation and additional entrance to campus, at public forums hosted by the Trinity University Facilities Master Plan Committee.

Suggested campus improvements include replacing parking lots on lower campus with an additional intramural field and grass areas for recreation. To compensate for the loss of parking, a parking structure outside the Bell Athletic Center is suggested. This would increase easily accessible parking for both student residents and visitors during sporting events.

People at the meeting also discussed possible improvements to upperclassman dorms, such as renovating three of the upperclassman dorms into single room styles, similar to the improvement done to the North Hall during last summer. They also suggested a possible apartment building for seniors and juniors to improve privacy.

Other ideas brought up at the meeting included adding a main entrance to upper campus on Hildebrand Avenue, in addition to the entrance currently on Stadium Drive, having a second entrance to the Coates Library and improving student gathering spots in and around the Coates Community Center.

The Master Plan committee hosted two forums Tuesday to gather feedback from the broader Trinity community on long term facility improvement needs. The committee is made up of students, faculty, and staff. “Most universities update their master plan every 5 to 10 years. It’s been much longer than that for Trinity,” said Wanda Olson, Residential Life staff member and a member of the master plan committee.

The committee has worked for several months in finding the consultant for the master plan and eventually chose Austin, Texas based company Page.

Page has been involved in improving many campuses across the country and is currently working on improvements to the Texas State Capitol.

Don Kenney is one of the Page consultants working on the Trinity project. “The Trinity community is great. The level of engagement from students is very helpful,” says Kenney.

The overall goal of upgrading the campus, said Kenney at the meeting, is to respect the work of O’Neil Ford, the original architect for Trinity, while improving campus sustainability and better serving the Trinity community.

Ford is a famous Texas architect who is behind the brick facade that sets the tone for the Trinity campus. Many buildings, including Halsell, Chapman, and a majority of the residence halls were constructed in the 1950s and are considered historic buildings. They have had little renovations done to them.

It is possible that Trinity can request to have parts of the campus classified as a historic district because of these historical buildings, which would allow for a tax benefit when renovations are made, members of Page consulting told the forum.

It will take up to 20 years to make these suggested improvements. While most current students will be gone by that time, they are still willing to participate in the process. “This is a great chance for upperclassman to give input,” said Senior Chris Soto, an Urban Studies Major at Trinity. “It is nice that the committee is taking into consideration what we have to say.”

The input from faculty and staff will be considered at the Master Plan committee meeting on Thursday when it revises the plan. The committee will submit the revised plan to Trinity’s Board of Trustees in May for further input and approval. Once approved, funding can continue to be gathered and a more concrete construction timeline can be created.