The plan will, for the first time in recent history, assess the condition of current facilities and the need for space, create better defined campus entries and improved student gathering areas through landscaping and study traffic flow and parking.
“This campus is one of the largest organizations in the region, and it’s an important part of downtown Dayton,” said Sinclair President Steven Johnson. “Over the 40 years this campus has been here, we’ve expanded pretty thoughtfully here and there, but now we are going to take a look at the whole thing.”
Johnson said the plan will study the need for more gallery space and additional practice rooms for performing arts, and will look at the placement of the bookstore and college-run Tartan Terrace Restaurant.
Sinclair budgeted $50,000 to do a “concept study” for the future Life and Health Sciences center, a project receiving $4 million in state funding.
The college has contracts with these firms:
• BHDP Architecture in Cincinnati is the lead consultant.
• Sasaki Associates Inc. in Boston is the project’s strategic planner
• Heapy Engineering in Dayton will plan infrastructure
• LJB Inc. in Dayton, will perform infrastructure planning, facilities assessment and study parking and traffic flow
• THP Limited Inc. in Cincinnati will oversee structural engineering and building envelop assessment
• The Sextant Group, whose corporate office is in Pittsburgh, will look at audio and information technology, as well as security
• CYP Studio in Centerville will work on grounds and landscaping.
The contracts have been signed by all parties, including the Ohio Attorney General, according to Sinclair.
The master plan for the Dayton campus will differ from Sinclair’s facilities master plan, which regularly plans out normal renovations and capital projects, said spokesman Adam Murka.
“This master plan will serve us for the next 40 years,” Johnson said.
The Downtown Dayton Partnership anticipates the college’s master plan will strengthen Sinclair’s position as an asset to the city, said Kristen Wicker, partnership spokeswoman.
“Having Sinclair downtown is definitely a plus for the city,” she said. “Anytime we have any kind of investment in the downtown area, it just helps boast downtown as a whole.”
When Sinclair opened its downtown campus in 1972, it had seven buildings. The campus has since grown to 19 buildings today.
Since 1980, the student population has grown from nearly 17,000 to more than 25,000. Sinclair has planned a $122.7 million budget for fiscal year 2013.
The college has invested $150 million in the campus in the last 10 years and expects to put in another $75 million during the next five, according to the college. Sinclair has no debt.
Sinclair has also a Courseview Campus Center in Mason in Warren County, and several learning centers in Englewood and Huber Heights in Montgomery County and Eaton in Preble County, as well as a center at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
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