DURHAM, N.H. - Continued commitment to the University of New Hampshire's agricultural land, a new arts center, and additional graduate school housing are among the remaining key components of the UNH Campus Master Plan, the final update of which will be presented Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, from 12:30-2 p.m. in the Huddleston Hall Ballroom on the Durham campus. The public is invited to attend. 

Also included in the revised plan are recommendations for the best use of McConnell Hall, continued study of the outdoor pool, and building parking garages, if necessary, on A Lot and B Lot, with the added note that any parking structure on A Lot should allow for further commercial development, and a B Lot garage should accommodate a new fire station

While commercial development on open land had been discussed in earlier master plan updates, the final draft recommends retaining the agricultural fields and native woodlands for teaching, research, and aesthetic value, adding that "To the extent possible, change and development would occur in areas previously developed."

As previously revealed in other versions of the master plan, priority building projects include:

Phased construction of a new Center for the Arts adjacent to C Lot

Renovations and expansion of Hamilton Smith Hall

Repurposing McConnell Hall for psychology, sociology and justice studies

Expanding Campus Recreation and Cowell Stadium

Academic Commons in Dimond Library

A university club

The Campus Master Plan also allows for public‐private venture, i.e., an entrepreneurial research park on UNH land or an office park that utilizes private financing, public incentives, and long‐term lease commitments by UNH and private tenants.

Read the draft at this link or at www.unh.edu/cmp. Comments on the final draft plan may be submitted prior to the meeting via the link or direct email to cmp.ideas@unh.edu.

After next week's forum and any additional feedback from master plan committee, the finished document will be turned over to President Huddleston for his review.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagshippublic institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.