South Dakota State University has almost finished creating their master plan for the future of SDSU’s campus.

SDSU’s website for the comprehensive master plan says that the goal is to make a realistic and feasible plan for the University using advanced planning.

The university is working with DLR Group, who the website says is “…a nationally recognized campus master planning and design firm.”

The website says that, “The Master Plan is a shared vision that will guide the development of SDSU over the next decade and beyond.‍”

Jonathan Meendering, the Director of Planning & Design for SDSU Facilities & Services says that the biggest thing to understand about the master plan is to know that it’s just a framework for progress. “At this point, you know, a master plan is more of a framework than ‘this is going to happen,’ It’s overarching goals.”

“Nothing is set in stone until we start digging into the projects,” Meendering says.

The University will use the master plan to have clear goals for the future of the university. They are subject to change though.

“It’s nice to have a roadmap. If you don’t have a road map, you don’t have direction.” Meendering says it’s hard to tie all of the projects that need done on campus into a cohesive plan, because there are so many projects that could be done. “A master plan lets you take those into a plan that supports all of campus.”

More details will come out in a few weeks when the official masterplan is released. However, here are some ideas according to their Master Plan Engagement Report which can be found on the SDSU comprehensive master plan website.

Within their analysis diagrams, it was briefly noted to:

• Remove unnecessary functions from Morrill Hall (Morrill Hall is outdated and overloaded).
• Expand the Athletics district east, per the Athletics Master plan.
• Small-scale improvements to add more functional outdoor space.
• Use trees to screen parking lots along public edges.
• Find ways to reduce pedestrian and vehicular conflicts
• Increase multi-modal paths on campus (include more bike lanes).
• Upgrade and improve overall stormwater and wastewater.
• Replacement of aging sewer lines needed.

It was also noted without further solution that:

• There are inconsistent academic environments in Wagner, Crothers, and Pugsley
• Many interior lots interfere with pedestrian flow. 

Morrill Hall

Meendering says that Morrill Hall will not be renovated entirely. “A lot of that has more to do with maintenance and repairs in the building. Plumbing, electrical, those kinds of improvements.”

Athletics District

The expanding Athletics district project “…has to do with some of the needs by the SJAC, just lack of rooms and limited study rooms around the SJAC and the Stiegelmeier Student Athlete Center,” Meendering says, “You know how they re-did the wrestling complex? Their plan is to expand similarly on the east side.”

Outdoor Improvements

Concerning the mentioned improvements to outdoor space, Meendering says, “That’s probably some of the less defined pieces.” A lot of it will have to do with the way the outsides of the buildings will change. Meendering says they want the buildings to have better connection to the green spaces, and better activate outdoor spaces. They would like to add more tables with chairs and decorative pieces outside of buildings so students can study outside more when the weather is nice.

“Right now, Jackrabbit Green is a little disconnected from all of the buildings that line it. The goal would be to kinda create more of a direct connection for everyone who is using those buildings, and that would activate the green a little more,” Meendering says.

Sewer Lines, Stormwater, and Wastewater Management

The replacement of sewer lines and upgrading the stormwater and wastewater managements Meendering says will mean, “…tearing up a lot of campus. A lot of that is going to happen this next summer.”

They’ve been working on parts of it over the past two summers Meendering says, but that, “The next summer’s project will be more disruptive, right around the Union and the residence halls.”

Meendering said they’ve had to consider how to get access to the Union for things like new student orientations, sports camps, and other camps held at SDSU. “We need to make sure we can get the construction done in a timely manner, but still let all of the functions happen.”

Multi-Modal Transportation

The mention of increasing multi-modal paths on campus would mean having “…a painted section dedicated to bikes, skateboards, scooters, whatever that might be. That’s what you see on a lot of campuses,” Meendering says.

“For our campus, we are a long ways from that. We don’t have pedestrian and multi-modal traffic that is dense enough to have problems with that yet. Once it starts to get congested, then you have to start limiting where you can use multi-modal.” Meendering says this should be easy whenever the university decides to do it because “A lot of our sidewalks are already extremely wide.”

Briggs Library

Meendering says that in 2018, SDSU did a building renovation study for Briggs Library. They identified through that process that they could put more student and academic services in the library, and that there was “some discussion about bringing the IT helpdesk into the library.”

The master plan has drawn from that 2018 study Meendering says, but that they are also now looking at needed changes to support the university’s transition to an R1 Institution. Meendering says, “Now it will be also, how can the library better support research?”

Meendering said about the library project that, “It will likely happen. This is a phase one project. Phase one is a 10-year span. So anywhere in that 10-year plan, it could happen.” The goal for phase one projects would be to get all of them finished within 10 years if possible.

Animal Science Complex

The Animal Science Complex may also be looking at some future upgrades. It was written in the comprehensive master plan on SDSU’s website that the, “Animal Science complex is in need of renovation or new building, a lot of space has been around since the 1970s.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely on our list,” Meendering says, “Again, it’s about priorities. They have an ongoing meat lab project that they’ve been trying to address pieces at a time. Lab and classroom spaces need updated.” Meendering said that graduate spaces got updated last year.

Wagner, Crothers, & Pugsley

“Those are all buildings on our list for our improvements.” But Meendering says that, “There are a few mindsets for maintenance and repairs on the building. Some mindsets are to make small improvements a little at a time. Or, you can do a full overhaul of the building, renovate it all at one time.”

Meendering says that, “They’ve been doing the latter approach. Take Lincoln, those were full renovations, everything was touched. Now, you walk through those buildings, and there are still characters of the old building, but they are new. So that’s been our strategy.”

“The one drawback to that is that you’re not impacting as many buildings as often. You have to put so many resources into one building. There isn’t funding available to do that,” Meendering says.

“It kinda comes down to buildings that have the greatest need.” Meendering said that what spurred the Lincoln Hall renovation, was that it needed renovated and it’s a historic building on the green. Plus, when music moved out, it was an opportunity to go in and do a lot.

Meendering says that it was a similar situation with Harding Hall as well – once mathematics moved out of Harding Hall and it was vacated, that’s when they took the opportunity to renovate it.

However, Wagner, Crothers, and Pugsley are still in use. “So, for Wagner,” Meendering says, “that will have to be more of a phase type approach. Taking it by floors or areas to get it completed.” The HVAC and restrooms have already been renovated.

Parking Lots

At a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 12, about the official master plan, it was mentioned by Linsey Graff, a senior campus planner for DLR Group, that some internal parking lots on campus are in the way of student’s walking path.

Meendering says, “I think the biggest conflict would be Campanile Avenue into the Wagner lot. That’s the heaviest street into campus right now.”

The north side of the barn and Yeager has three small lots, which Meendering says students cut through and that they bring more cars into the center of campus. “Reducing that would limit traffic without having to take out the Wagner parking lot,” Meendering says. “It’s been marked for removal in the past, and in this masterplan, they recommended taking a portion of the west parking lot out and expanding the green space over there to better connect buildings.”

Meendering said that they did parking calculations, and they found that if they removed certain spots and added certain new ones, that they would actually gain parking spots.

“They are planning to redo the Newman Center; they’ve been working on it for ten years,” Meendering says. “That whole area would become a more efficient.” Parking could be redone to be more connected with union lots.

“It’s hard to say if or when that’s going to happen,” Meendering says. In the SE corner of campus, they have a parking lot that will be constructed next summer to address some of the parking challenges they experienced this year.

Funding for these Projects

Meendering says that funding comes from multiple sources. For example, an existing building needing maintenance and repairs can get funding from the Board of Regents. The university also receives a portion of state general funds. Student fees can contribute towards certain projects. University strategic funds can help with capital improvements and once in a while the university receives grant funds.

“Typically, on projects, there is a significant donor-funded portion,” Meendering says.

DLR Group has been working on this campus master plan since 2023. The firm put together many different focus groups made up of students, community members, and faculty to discuss current issues and come up with new ideas. Many more ideas and issues were discussed than the ones listed above. To see more, read the full Master Plan Engagement Report here.