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GRU Development Strategy Assessment
DRAFT Georgia Regents University Campus Development Assessment Strategy Augusta, Georgia July 2013 S A S A K I Should Georgia Regents University partner with the City of Augusta in the redevelopment of the Sibley and King Mills? Background Information Study Geography Flood Plain (estimate) Mill Property Summerville Forest Hills Downtown District Health Sciences Sibley and King Mills Up to 1M GSF available in structures with potential for renovation and reuse on ~40 acres. Financial and ownership arrangements for mills project to be determined; ARC project “confident” of zero up-front cost to GRU/BOR but desires for length and guarantees associated with fee based income not known. Demographic Projections Edgefield:0.6% Columbia:1.8% Aiken:0.6% McDuffie:0.5% Richmond:0.9% Barnwell:-0.1% Burke:0.7% In 2011, Augusta State FT/FT freshmen were 41% from Columbia county and 23.5% from Richmond county Georgia projected annual growth rates for 20152030, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, 2012 series South Carolina projected annual growth rates for 2015-2030, U.S. census bureau Enrollment Projections BOR (DRAFT) projection for ten year enrollment growth is +910 (9.52%) GRU projection for ten year enrollment growth is +1,775 (18.57%) Key points : •450-500 students to East Georgia •GRU posits: • • increased retention, recruitment, expedited admissions, expanded academic programs, enhanced quality of student life, military strategy, increased scholarships, expanded athletics program new students from out-of-state, health sciences interest, transfers Space Utilization Study Summerville Health Sciences Note that Health Sciences pedagogy and cohort model are unique in the system Space Utilization Study Summerville Health Sciences Note that Health Sciences calculations exclude hospital controlled space but include some hospital employees and that additional office space will be provided by projects currently in planning and construction Space Utilization Study Health Sciences Summerville Downtown Occupancy 310K SF of vacant retail space in downtown Augusta with year-to-date net absorption slightly negative. Vacancy rates are 4.7% on 6.6M GLA. 30K/294K/75K SF of vacant Class A/B/C office space in downtown Augusta. Office vacancy rates are 26.7%/9.4%/4.8% on 113K/3.13M/1.58M RBA. Cassidy Turley, Augusta Real Estate Market Report: Office and Retail, May 2013 Previous Studies B+D Quality of Life Study GRU commissioned Brailsford + Dunlavey in summer 2012 Summerville + Health Sciences populations different Existing quality of life facilities insufficient Strategic objectives require improvements B+D recommendations: • • • • • • Live on requirement for FT first year students 450 beds at Summerville 81K GSF union/dining/recreation proposed for Summerville Satellite outdoor recreation facility near both campuses Renovate Health Sciences student center 300 beds at Health Sciences Solstice Parking + Transit Study GRU commissioned Solstice Jan 2013 Significant operational challenges from merger Summerville at 95% peak occupancy (implied shortage) Health Sciences shortfall of 105 spaces Inter-campus shuttle:15 minute frequency (7.2 Mile loop) Solstice recommendations: • 1,550-2,000 additional spaces needed by 2020 • Remote parking strategy • Additional parking structure, likely at Summerville Analysis Growth Available data suggests that substantial near- to mid- term enrollment growth is unlikely without significant additional investment. This investment would need to be much broader than facilities. The creation of a “destination” university is likely a long-term initiative. Academic Space Health Sciences currently has 172,509 GSF under construction in new medical education commons, 170,000 GSF cancer research building funded for construction, and 199,368 available for repurposing in old dental building. Available data suggests that new near- to mid-term academic space investments should likely focus on improved quality not increased quantity (the one exception to this may be wet-bench research space, but this will likely need to be proximate to the academic core of the health sciences campus). Student Life Space Available data suggests there likely is a near- to midterm need for additional student life space, particularly for the undergraduate population (with housing being the likely highest priority). This space should be proximate to the academic environment. Most importantly, it is critical that social space investments be considered on an institution-wide basis, and not only on a campus-by-campus basis. Summerville Capacity P P Parking garages could allow for an increase in building capacity of ~60% -70% depending on impact of added residential to parking demand. Health Sciences Capacity Current land holdings encompass ~167 acres (approximate individual parcel areas shown in square feet) 151 K 151 K 514 K 514 K 530 K 530 K 333 K 333 K 307 K 307 K 32 K 32 K 59 K 59 K 359 K 359 K 172 K 172 K 90 K 90 K 216 K 216 K 471 K 471 K 1.719 M 1.719 M 135 K 135 K 1.308 M 1.308 M 507 K 507 K 98 K 98 K 62 K 62 K Health Sciences Capacity ~100 acres are currently available for redevelopment. At an FAR of 2.5, for example, this would accommodate 11 million new GSF assuming all parcels available for core mission activities. 514 K 514 K 425 K 425 K 1.960 M 1.960 M 580 K 580 K 190 K 190 K 250 K 250 K 407 K 407 K Health Sciences Capacity 4.7 M 4.7 M As a further example, property acquisitions to connect existing land holdings to the mills would require just over 100 additional acres and could accommodate an additional ~13 million GSF (or 24M GSF in total). Conclusions “GRU + Augusta = Success” ARC project says, “the city and GRU rise or fall together”. We completely agree. GRU best supports Augusta by pursuing carefully planned development that most effectively advances its mission - with efficiency and financial sustainability. We feel strongly that downtown office + retail should be reinforced, not threatened. Scenarios Mill property Summerville Forest Hills Downtown District Health Sciences Current physical relationships Scenario I Forest Hills: athletics only Summerville Mill property: gains residential, recreation, food Downtown District Existing housing sold Health Sciences Mills as consolidated residential zone Scenario II Forest Hills: athletics only Summerville: gains residential, recreation, food Mill property: no GRU presence Downtown District Existing housing sold Health Sciences Reinforce Summerville Scenario III Forest Hills: athletics only Summerville repurposed Mill property: no GRU presence Existing housing sold Consolidated academic campus Consolidate at Health Sciences Downtown District with selective increased GRU presence Recommendation The long-term optimal outcome is for GRU to operate one consolidated campus (in addition to the Forest Hills athletics campus). If this is not feasible, the university should operate no more than two academic/residential campuses. In either case, this implies disposing of existing student housing with Forest Hills becoming purely an athletics campus. Future land acquisition should be highly strategic and aimed at connecting and reinforcing existing Health Sciences parcels. Recommendation Scenario III represents the optimal single consolidated campus at Health Sciences with strong connection to downtown. This implies all future new facility investment will be at Health Sciences only. The chief barriers are the recent Summerville PPV investment, the replacement cost of Summerville facilities, and the market value of the Summerville campus. Recommendation Next best would be a reinforced Summerville connected to Health Sciences (Scenario II). This implies near-term investment in student life facilities would be primarily at Summerville. The chief barrier to this strategy is political, given potential neighborhood concerns over campus densification. A disadvantage is that this scenario does the least for downtown. Recommendation Scenario I, the creation of a single consolidated residential zone with supporting amenities at the Mills, is the least attractive of the three. However, it would be an improvement over current conditions if the deal is appropriately structured and included the satisfactory disposition of the Forest Hills housing. We examined moving the entire Summerville campus to the mills, but believe the cost of replacing Summerville is only justified if it results in a single campus.
