KINGSTON, R.I.—Oct. 8, 2024—The äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ has initiated a comprehensive campus planning process, the result of which will be a decades-long plan that will shape the future of the University’s campuses and inform how space is designed and used to support a growing and changing campus community.
äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ has retained Boston-based Sasaki Associates to lead the Comprehensive Campus Plan process, focusing on the Kingston, Narragansett Bay, and W. Alton Jones campuses, as well as äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s facilities in Providence. äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s Offices of Planning and Real Estate Development and Campus Design are leading and directing the University’s effort, and an advisory committee composed of a diverse array of stakeholders representing a cross-section of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ departments and academic disciplines has been appointed to help guide the process.
To ensure that the plan represents the needs and interests of the University community, the team leading the effort will host a community forum on Oct. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union, Atrium 1. The forum is designed to engage with members of the community and collect input on what the future of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s campuses should look like. All members of the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ community are invited to attend the event, which will be the first of several engagements that serve as opportunities for community members to inform the campus planning process and outcomes.
The planning process is intended to provide a strategic framework to address äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s space needs in academics; research; housing and student life; landscape and open space; recreation and athletics; circulation and wayfinding, including pedestrian, bicycle, transit, service, and vehicular traffic; parking; and utilities and other infrastructure.
The process will seek to draw upon äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s mission and strategic vision to develop a plan that embodies the aspirations of the broader community.
The planning process, which began in June 2024, comprises four consecutive stages: discovery and analysis, planning scenarios, campus plan development, and documentation. The planning team is currently in the first phase of work, discovery and analysis, which has included a broad investigation of current campus and facility conditions, meetings with campus representatives, and community outreach.
Findings from the discovery phase will inform the subsequent stage, planning scenarios, during which the planning team will develop several alternative planning scenarios that address current and projected needs of the campus for broad community feedback.
A preferred scenario will be refined based on input from the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ community during the third phase of work, campus plan development.
The final phase of work, documentation, will entail the production of a final report that will provide guidance on future capital improvement priorities for a 20-year time horizon.
Sasaki Associates is supported by local engineering firm Pare Corporation, cost estimators from Dharam Consulting, and energy and sustainability professionals from BR+A. BR +A is also simultaneously supporting the development of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s comprehensive energy plan.
Ongoing engagement with the University community will occur at key milestones in the planning process. The comprehensive planning process, including production of the final report, will run in parallel to and integrate with the energy and decarbonization master plan, and is expected to conclude in September 2025. More information about the planning process, including opportunities to engage and provide feedback and a listing of the advisory committee, is available at: .
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