Very Busy and Growing Grand Canyon University Planning for New Construction

The expanding Phoenix campus of Grand Canyon University is about to expand some more with the upcoming construction of two new residence halls.

The school, located at W. Camelback Road, is already in the process of building a residence hall complex which will house some 1,800 apartment units.

The two new residence halls will give to GCU an additional 1200 units, in two separate 6-story structures.

Founded in 1949, GCU has seen a steady increase in its student count, with an enrollment today of more than 25,000 people, not to mention the roughly 90,000 who receive instruction online.

The school currently has just under 30 residence halls. Those halls on average house around 600 beds each.

The most recent residence hall project, which is a part of a larger campus-wide $100 million capital building plan, is a complex called The Rivers and designed to provide another 1,800 units.

The Rivers includes 3 six-story halls, each with 600 sleeping units, not to mention a parking garage with space for up to 2,800 vehicles.

The new halls will go up near the intersection of Camelback Road and 28th Avenue and will be paid for out of the school’s own capital reserves.

A primary reason for the GCU’s ongoing residential hall construction is centered on the expectation that before the end of the decade the school will see an enrollment of up to 40,000 students.

That figure will make the private Christian university competitive with Arizona State University, which has an enrollment of around 43,000; and the University of Arizona at just over 45,000 students.

Plans now call for work to begin on the two new halls later this year, with a completion date in time for the fall 2022 semester.

By Garry Boulard

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