[Source: Jahna Berry, Arizona Republic] — For two years, Phoenix has had a taste of downtown college life. This year, ASU officials say, the city will see the main course. A new journalism-school building and a 13-story dorm will open their doors for the first time this semester, but the big boost will come from the students themselves. Unlike many of the campus’ current students who are commuters, graduate students and the like, the new students (as many as 1,500) are more likely to be underclassmen. In addition to those who will live on campus, many more will hang out downtown.
Business owners have wondered if the taxpayer-funded ASU satellite campus will deliver on its promises to bring foot traffic and a college vibe downtown. Although the ASU campus has helped the city court prospective downtown developers, few nearby shops have seen throngs of student customers, merchants say. This year will help change that, said Christopher Callahan, dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. The bulk of the new faces will be enrolled at his school, which moved from Tempe into a new six-story, $71 million building on Central Ave this summer.
Until this year, the student population had risen gradually downtown as ASU colleges there increased enrollment. When the first ASU schools opened downtown in 2006, enrollment was 2,766. Last year, enrollment reached 3,377. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Downtown Voices Coalition 