SUNDAY
GREAT START: Holiday weekend begins with nice weather. 1B
September 5, 2010 127th year No. 248
SERVING OTHERS: New Thomasville police chaplain sworn in. 1B
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
MOUNTAINEER MAGIC: Appalachian State opens with epic rally. 1D
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WHO’S NEWS
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Michael Lischke was appointed to the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics’ board of directors. Lischke is the director of Northwest AHEC, which is affiliated with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
More GROWTH for HPU CAMPUS LEGEND
Before you read...
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1 Hayworth Fine Arts Center 2 Congdon Hall 3 David R. Hayworth Hall 4 Hayworth Chapel 5 Norton Hall 6 Plato S. Wilson School of Commerce 7 Nido R. Qubein School of Communication 8 School of Education * 9 Greek Village * 10 5th Street Commons * 11 York Residence Hall 12 University Center 13 6th Street Apartments 14 6th Street Apartments 15 6th Street Apartments 16 Wilson Residence Hall 17 Millis Residence Hall 18 Phillips Hall 19 Finch Residence Hall 20 Kester Inernational Promenade 21 David R. Hayworth Park 22 Slane Student Center 23 Security 24 Roberts Hall 25 Wrenn Admissions Building 26 Smith Library 27 McEwen Residence Hall 28 Wesley, North, Yadkin Residence Halls 29 Belk Residence Hall 30 Blessing Residence Hall 31 Evening Degree Program 32 Millis Athletic/Convocation Center 33 Erath Baseball Field 34 Coy O. Williard Baseball Stadium 35 Steele Sports Center 37 Vert Track & Soccer Stadium 38 Clubs/Intramural Fields 39 The Village 40 U-Ville Apartments 41 North College Station 42 North College Townhouses 43 North College Terrace * [Coming soon]
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The country may be recovering from the throes of a recession, but you wouldn’t know it looking at High Point University. Amid an economic downturn, the university continues to grow, with more housing being added and another phase of expansion to be announced later this month. And while the university, as most sectors of the economy, has taken its lumps, it has managed to remain in sound fiscal shape amid an ambitious growth plan. And buildings aren’t the only thing going up. The university in recent years has moved up in various college rankings, positioning it as a premier college destination nationwide. This three-part series looks at the recent growth and status of the university and what the future may hold.
BY DAVID NIVENS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Growth continues this year at High Point University with the opening of the $12 million North College Station even as construction starts on a $14 million new Greek Village. Formerly the site of Wesleyan Homes, located on College Drive between Eastchester Drive and Centennial Street, the refurbished complex features townhomes and apartments for 317 upperclassmen. It includes a convenience store, a gym, two business centers, recreation areas and trolley stops for transportation to campus. HPU paid $9 million for the former Wesleyan Arms and Wesleyan
SERIES BREAKOUTS
HPU ADDITIONS
TODAY: University isn’t through expanding
North College Station: Formerly the site of Wesleyan Homes, located on College Drive between Eastchester Drive and Centennial Street, the refurbished complex features townhomes and apartments for 317 upperclassmen. Cost: $14 million.
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MONDAY: Finances solid despite economic downturn TUESDAY: Rising through the ranks
Homes properties and spent $3 million on renovations, said HPU President Nido Qubein. The clinical portions of the complex will not be developed until residents leave for their new home at Providence Place or other facilities, Qubein said. ON CAMPUS “The assisted living portion is occuThe changing pied,” Qubein said. face of High “We don’t know Point University what we will do yet. ■■■ ■■■ It could be classrooms or a residence hall.” The changes are part of a $468 million upgrade program that includes construction of a Greek Village that will consist of 14 houses for about 200 students. The village will be part of a central campus development that will take in the Fifth Street area, Qubein said, that could push the current project total to $34 million. Unlike some campuses, HPU leaders decided to develop a housing group for the fraternities and sororities. “We have 3,000 students on campus now, and we want a safe and secure campus for them,” Qubein said.
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Greek Village: The village will include 14 two-story buildings, each at 3,000 square feet. About 13 students would live in each house, creating room for 182 students. One house will be a central meeting house. There will be a pool and parking. Opening Fall 2011. Cost: $12 million.
HIGH POINT – By the middle of this month, the city could begin to see the fruits of a $40 million investment. City officials said High Point has been ready to take water from the Randleman Regional Reservoir for the past two months or so. It will supplement what is already an ample water supply, but will bring other benefits as well, according to the city. “The extra water we’re going to get from Randleman is added insurance that High Point will not have a water problem, and that’s a real benefit for High Point,” said City Manager Strib Boynton. “We’re only using, on a typical day, less than half of our available
supply, which gives us more opportunities for economic growth, for attracting new businesses.” The city uses an average of about 12 million gallons a day out of its roughly 25 million-gallon treatment capacity, using water from Oak Hollow and City lakes. The Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority, which oversees the distribution of water from the reservoir to High Point and five other customers, will allocate the city about 2.68 million gallons a day, according to Assistant Public Services Director Terry Houk. A transmission line was installed from a water authority transfer station to a tank the city built at the Ward Water Treatment Plant. The water will start flowing when state regulators give final approval to operations at the authority’s
High Point University welcomed a record number of students to begin the 2010-2011 academic year. Total campus undergraduate day enrollment is 3,300. At 1,220, HPU’s freshman class is the largest ever. In the past year, the university opened the $20 million Nido R. Qubein School of Communication and the $16 million Plato S. Wilson School of Commerce, as well as the $65 million University Center, a residence hall that includes a library, restaurants, an arcade and theater. Through the end of 2009, HPU has added 15 new academic, residential and student-life buildings, plus two new athletic stadiums and a field
treatment plant and pumping stations, possibly by mid-September. “When they transmit, we’ll be able to modify our operations to take all the water they’re going to send us and serve the rest of the city,” Houk said. The city’s tab for the project, from its beginnings to the infrastructure that’s been added in recent years, comes to slightly more than $40 million. Some of the cost has been incorporated into the city’s waterrate structure over time. “We’ve been paying for this for years,” Boynton said. “I think we’ve made, over the last decade, the critical investments needed to improve our water supply and our wastewater treatment capacity. We haven’t got the problems others have got.” pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEWSPAPER.
MEET THE CANDIDATES: Series of profiles on local political hopefuls begins. 2C OBITUARIES
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James Barry, 61 Buck Blackwell, 45 Lester Gearren, 87 Dwight Mabe, 67 Michael Petty Mary Shacklett, 85 Obituaries, 2B
Phase II: University officials plan an announcement by mid-September to detail future growth plans.
HPU, 2A
City ready to capitalize on water investment BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
INSIDE
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HIGH POINT’S TAB
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High Point’s total investment to be able to take water from the Randleman Regional Reservoir is $40,080,000, itemized as follows: • Randleman Lake and Dam, $17,750,000 • Kime Water Treatment Plant, $8,150,000 • 48-inch line plant to pump station, $2,700,000 • PTRWA Booster Pump Station, $1,410,000 • Water Main to City, $3,370,000 • Water Main Lake Crossings, $3,800,000 • Elevated Storage Tank, $2,900,000
WEATHER
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Sunshine High 84, Low 57 6D
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