ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech officials say “unprecedented growth” over the last few years has spurred the completion of a new, more contemporary student housing building.

Campus View Suites III has just opened and will provide more than 400 additional beds for students than its predecessor. The suites sit on the site of the former Nisson Towers building, which was torn down in 2023.

Jon Gibb, director of facility planning and construction at Utah Tech, told St. George News that the last of the furniture will be moved in soon, and students will be able to enjoy the housing next semester.

Campus View Suites III isn’t just bigger than the Nisson Towers; it also has more bells and whistles that Gibb said they added due to student feedback.

Inside, there is a game room, private and common study rooms, a multipurpose room, a fitness room, housing staff offices and an indoor bike storage area. Each floor has its own laundry facilities and trash chutes. Outside, there is a putting green on the astroturf.

The crown jewel of the new building may be the grocery store on the ground floor. Gibb said items there will be sold at standard grocery store prices. Their goal is not to price-gouge students but to provide them with an easily accessible place to shop.

More beds mean more students, which also means more cars.

“Looking at parking inventory and campus growth, we deemed some additional parking necessary,” Gibb said.

Utah Tech is on schedule to add 102 extra parking spots by the Science, Engineering and Technology Building.

“The project involves significant infrastructure work, including the installation of storm drains, water lines and electrical lines,” Gibb said. “The area has already been graded, and the next steps include bringing in fill material and starting the asphalt, curb, gutter and sidewalk construction.”

Planning began early last year while Campus View Suites III was well underway.

Gibb said it is likely that students from Campus View Suites III will attend class in the General Classroom Building, a new 120,000-square-foot facility.

“The General Classroom Building will be a workhorse for the campus,” Gibb said.

He said he hopes to see construction completed by the fall of 2025. The building will host numerous programs from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and will feature 53 teaching spaces and 125 faculty offices.

The project includes extensive underground infrastructure work to connect the new building to the campus’s central heating and cooling systems. Construction is progressing well, with the steel structure nearing completion and mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations underway.

“It’s a big part that most people don’t see,” Gibb said. “We had to extend all the central chillers and boilers infrastructure from the Jennings and Hazy building down to this new classroom building.”

On the other end of the scale is the single-story Atwood Innovation Plaza Annex Restroom Building, which is set to be completed by Aug. 9.

“Having a public restroom is a big plus for the public,” Gibb said. “It also provides a place student-athletes … can call home before or between matches,” Gibb said.

These construction projects are all a part of the campus master plan.

“The campus master plan is a living document that drives decision-making with planning and growth on campus,” Gibb said.

This plan includes the development of new buildings, parking lots and other infrastructure necessary to support the university’s growth.

Gibb said the master plan is regularly updated to reflect the evolving needs of the university and its students. It also drives decision-making and studies the utilization of buildings before they are built.

Funding for these projects primarily comes from improvement and development funds from the state of Utah, with some projects utilizing institutional funds.

While Utah Tech lists only five current projects, Gibb said the campus is always evolving.

“We’ve got 40 or 50 projects going at any given time,” Gibb said. “A lot of them are just modifying this office, painting here, carpeting here — small little improvements.”

Gibb said the campus usually has one new construction going at a time and that, as it stands, each project manager has more work than is usually assigned.

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The team has yet to miss a deadline.

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