The 10-Year Plan

The University of Memphis has a grand vision for the expansion of campus life into the community, which has been revealed in a 10-year plan.

The make up of the campus will be transformed in an attempt to create space to accommodate added features, including a new music building, a railroad underpass on Southern Avenue and a new alumni center.

Tyler DeWitt, Student Government Association president, said the changes could prove profitable for The U of M.

"I think there will be commercial interest, but it is going to make The University way more attractive," he said.

The plan calls for an expansion of campus property as far out as Highland Street with the cooperation of residents living in between.

Bill Harbin, a design drafter at The U of M, said The University has been buying residential land for the last two to three years.

"We are not planning on buying businesses at the moment. We are more interested in including them in our campus community," he said.

Harbin said the issues of student parking and railroad crossings are a priority for the design staff.

 "We have been planning  a rail overpass for almost 50 years, but it will be an underpass. I'm not sure when that will happen because we are going to have to work closely with the railroad company," he said.

Future parking may be limited to garage additions, which students will have to pay for. Negotiations for expansion of the general parking section on Zach Curlin may be impossible because Memphis Light Gas and Water owns the land.

"We plan on having a garage on Southern between the tracks and the gym and another on the North side of the music building," said Harbin.

Harbin said that five or more years from now, The University will build a new alumni center and music facility south of the new Richardson Towers.

He also said construction on Highland Row, The U of M's shopping center on Highland Avenue, has begun and will continue when funding clears.

DeWitt said Highland Row is an important addition to the campus' appeal to the city.

"If you drive down Highland, you can't tell that a major university is a block away. The expansion will create a nice collegiate atmosphere that transcends into the community," he said.

The U of M has created a master plan that changes the face of not only the main campus but also the South Campus.

 The Loewenberg School of Nursing and the Speech and Hearing Center will be moved to the South Campus and a new entrance will be built outside of the complex.

Harbin said all of the changes in the master plan are not set in stone.

"The plan is more so what we hope to create if we had the money," he said.