Grand Canyon University today officially selected DMB Associates’ newest community, Eastmark in Mesa, as the site for its new, $150M satellite campus.
The university will be given the right to purchase 100 acres at Eastmark with an option to add up to 60 adjacent acres for future expansion. Other sites considered for the new GCU campus were Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Tempe.
“In selecting the Eastmark site, we were especially impressed with the integrated community concept DMB is creating,” said Brian Mueller, president and CEO of GCU.
“This environment will give our students, faculty and staff an exciting place to learn, work and play while being an integral part of the East Valley community. We believe our presence will benefit the entire region by providing the option of a low-cost, high-quality Christian education to all its residents,” Mueller said.
DMB’s Eastmark community will be situated on 3,200 acres in the center of the Gateway region in Mesa, just minutes from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
“We are thrilled to be the future home of GCU, its faculty, students and staff,” said Charley Freericks, president of DMB. “DMB communities feature a focus on lifelong learning and GCU’s unique model for post-secondary education will bring a wealth of learning opportunities to Eastmark and to all of the East Valley.”
Construction of the new campus is expected to begin in 2014, with a prospective opening date in 2015. The university’s plan is to purchase up to 160 acres located east of Ellsworth Rd. and Point 22 Blvd. The 7-year build-out of the campus will include offices and administration space, classrooms, labs, library, a student union, student dorms, recreational fields and parking.
“The East Valley, and specifically Mesa’s Gateway area, is emerging as a destination for high-quality higher education. We are honored to welcome Grand Canyon University to Mesa, Arizona’s newest college town,” said Mesa Mayor Scott Smith.
Until the opening of the new campus, the GCU team will have a space in Eastmark’s visitors and community center this coming year for prospective students to come and learn more about the school as well as the new campus.
So that they can begin offering classes in the fall of 2014, the university is looking into leasing space in the Eastmark area. When the campus opens in 2015, those students would then transfer to the new location.
