Duke OKs 1st phase of planned expansion

Focus placed on school's undergrads

The first phase of the next Duke campus will have about 500 beds for undergraduates and space for a slew of arts and humanities departments.

Trustees have signed off on the size and general vision for the first phase of the campus, which will run along Campus Drive in the central core of the university.

The overall plan, approved earlier this year, shifted the initial location from the area of Anderson Street and Erwin Road farther south to a strip of woodlands along Campus Drive. Now, trustees are beginning to define the building program. Among the highlights: the first phase will have about 500 spaces for sophomore, junior and senior undergraduates in suite-style dormitories. Freshmen will still live on East Campus, opposite the main campus on the east side of Main Street.

Initially, Duke officials expected to put about 1,400 new beds on the campus. But that included about 400 spots for graduate students. Now with the whole plan being moved away from the Erwin Road area, the grad student housing piece is being reconsidered. Planners envision just 1,000 new beds, all for undergrads, said Steve Nowicki, Duke's dean for undergraduate education.

"It doesn't mean we're ignoring grad housing," he said. "That will be a separate issue now."

The new housing will replace and expand on the central campus apartment community near Erwin Road. Those apartments were built over time, with some in much better shape than others, Nowicki said. The better units may eventually be used for grad student housing, he said.

This fall, the university will seek input from students, faculty, staff and neighbors for more specifics. The first phase is expected to include more than 500,000 square feet of new space at a cost of $400 million. Construction could begin as early as next summer near the intersection of Campus Drive and Anderson Street.

Trustees have determined that the first phase of construction will bring new space for visual arts; the languages, cultural studies and literature departments. Also, the John Hope Franklin Institute, new classrooms, a library information commons, and dining and recreation services. Planners will also spend a lot of time working with students to map out the best pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists. Duke officials hope to make it easy for students to get to central campus, and provide enough infrastructure on the new campus to make students want to stay there.

"We want not only to make students feel like they're not in the middle of nowhere, we want to actually draw students there," Nowicki said.

John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, said residents are relatively pleased the plan will bring additional arts and culture to the area, but are concerned about nuts-and-bolts issues like increased traffic and the placement of parking decks. The plan calls for several new decks in the area.

"There are plenty of neighbors interested in the details," Schelp said. "There will be impact on streets near campus."