Ultimate learning space: College Avenue Commons

Sept. 3 marked the grand opening of Arizona State University's newest building, College Avenue Commons, a $54.5 million mixed-use space in the heart of Tempe that will serve as the cutting-edge home for ASU’s construction programs, as well as a center of activity for students, staff, alumni and the community.

Morgan Olsen, ASU executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer, welcomed a crowd of local residents and community leaders to the newly constructed building Wednesday morning.

The five-story, 137,000-square-foot facility is the new home for Del E. Webb School of Construction programs, part of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Edd Gibson serves as the director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

The building was designed by Gensler/Architekton and constructed by Okland Construction, with dozens of ASU alumni on the design and construction teams.

David Burge, executive director of ASU Admissions Services, spoke at the grand opening of the Commons building, also home to the Sun Devil Welcome Center, which operates the Experience ASU visit program through Admission Services.

About 10,000 high school and community college students considering ASU will begin their tours of campus in the center’s new 200-seat auditorium.

ASU President Michael Crow addresses the crowd that gathered Wednesday morning in a hallway flooded with daylight.

College Avenue Commons boasts extensive wi-fi connectivity, and comes equipped with several recharging stations.

The building was designed with many sustainable features, including increased use of daylight in the classrooms, reduced water use, diversion of construction waste and use of recycled and low-emitting building materials.

Collaborative study and meeting spaces were designed to prompt discussion.

Outdoor spaces include balconies with drop-down video screens, a second-floor deck and multiple, ground-level patios.

The Commons building is equipped to be a go-to gathering place for celebrations, special events and game-day celebrations.

The ground floor Sun Devil Marketplace carries ASU clothing and gifts, computers and accessories, and includes a three-hole putting green.

Speakers gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the grand opening of College Avenue Commons. Left to right: Don Germano, president, Follett Higher Education Group; Edd Gibson, director, ASU's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment; ASU President Michael Crow; City of Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell; Morgan Olsen, ASU executive vice president, treasurer and CFO; David Burge, director of ASU Admissions Services.