University plans to make Franklin St. a Part of Campus

Claire IngebretsenTHE SANTA CLARAJanuary 22, 2014

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]anta Clara plans to establish a pedestrian mall around the upcoming Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building to increase student activity on the north side of Santa Clara, which is commonly referred to as the “dark side” of campus.

Beginning at the edge of the new building, the Franklin Street Mall will end just shy of Lafayette Street. Upon completion, the street will resemble the recently renovated Palm Drive and Alviso Street walkways.

Chris Shay, assistant vice president of University Operations, hopes that construction will be finished within a year. Construction on Franklin Street will immediately begin, following the completion of the Dowd Building in March 2016.

Last week, Shay presented the university’s plans to the Santa Clara City Council. They will vote on the plan in April.

The first phase of the Franklin Street project will take two to three months to complete. Shay was unable to give an estimate of how much the Franklin Street project will cost.

“We anticipate having a detailed design and budget by late summer of this year,” Shay said. “Funding comes from numerous sources, but the primary source for all capital projects dollars are donations to the university from alumni and friends of the university.”

Contact Claire Ingebretsen at cingebretsen@scu.edu.