As a sign of its continuing enrollment growth, Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado is hoping to build a new student garage on campus.
The project is in response to complaints from students who say that parking spaces have become harder to find, especially as the school’s enrollment has jumped from around 10,000 five years ago to more than 11,000 today.
As members of the Colorado General Assembly are meeting for their 2020 legislative session, Colorado Mesa University is asking for $23 million in funding to build the new garage.
That request is lower than the $25.4 million the school previously estimated the garage project would cost.
The university is also asking for $20 million in funding to build a new electrical and computer engineering building.
An additional $18 million is being requested for the renovation of the school’s Department of Kinesiology, which focuses on physiology, biomechanics, and physical therapy.
Colorado Mesa University has taken on several large construction projects in recent years, including the $15.7 million building of its Hotel Maverick, an upscale hotel that also serves as a teaching facility for the school’s hospitality students, and the $26 million Confluence Hall engineering building.
The Colorado General Assembly is scheduled to remain in session until the first week of May.
By Garry Boulard
