The University of Toledo could shrink as a result of its first major master planning effort since merging with the former Medical College of Ohio.
The plan, which will take about 15 months to complete, will identify money-saving ways to decrease the space UT occupies by up to 15 percent — the number officials are using as an initial assumption.
The university selected SmithGroupJJR, an architecture, engineering, and planning firm with an office in Ann Arbor, as the consultant that will create the 10-year master plan.
The plan will consider all UT properties including the main campus, Health Science Campus, Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation, Museum of Art Campus, Lake Erie Center, and Stranahan Arboretum.
It will identify space UT no longer needs as well as suggest what to do with it. A 15 percent reduction in space would eliminate about 1.2 million gross square feet.
President Sharon Gaber assumed the top leadership post July 1, months after UT began the search for a firm to provide planning services. The president, who has a Cornell University doctorate in city and regional planning, endorses the effort “to have a beautifully planned campus community.”
“We have to be cognizant that land and buildings have costs, and if we’re not using them efficiently, we want to be,” she said. “If that means reducing our footprint, if that means a density change, that’s important.”
Enrollment has dropped by about 10.7 percent from a high of 23,085 students in 2010 to 20,626 last fall, though planners were told by UT to assume an enrollment increase of up to 2 percent each year for the next five to 10 years.
A smaller physical footprint aligns with enrollment numbers and the growing focus on online courses, said Jason Toth, UT’s associate vice president for facilities and construction. It follows “a boom in building all over the country,” he said.
The main campus off Bancroft Street has 60 major buildings spread over 293 acres, while the Health Science Campus off Arlington Avenue has 18 major buildings on 323 acres. The other campuses are smaller, with Scott Park consisting of a dozen major buildings on 177 acres and the arboretum containing about 55 acres.
The university leases about six acres from the Toledo Museum of Art and about five acres from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources near the Maumee Bay State Park for its Lake Erie Center.
Consultants will examine proposed building projects or renovations, such as the under-review plan to convert Rocket Hall into an alumni center.
Officials said trimming unnecessary space would save money by lowering the cost of utilities, maintenance, security services, and deferred maintenance, among other expenses.
That’s enticing, because a financial analysis presented to UT trustees shows a projected $38.5 million deficit for the academic side by fiscal year 2020. The growing deficit is caused by “normal, routine inflation” — the rising cost of doing business such as salary and benefit increases, said Thomas Biggs, interim vice president of finance and administration.
UT is looking for additional ways to solve the financial difficulties, including growing enrollment, raising private dollars, managing health-care costs, and executing an affiliation agreement between the medical college and ProMedica.
Officials want the master plan ready for trustee approval in September, 2016. Suggestions from the plan, however, could be implemented sooner if leaders believe that’s the “right move,” Mr. Toth said.
Planners will speak to students, faculty, staff, and the larger community as they formulate recommendations. They are expected to spend much of the summer gathering data. The first on-campus meetings likely will take place in August.
UT has yet to finalize an agreement with SmithGroupJJR, though the university estimated the project’s budget at $750,000.
Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.
First Published July 6, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
