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	The Next Step, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Campus Facility Plan for 2000 is a companion document to the 1995 Master Plan and establishes a coherent, systematic pattern of growth from a campus of 16,800 students to one of 30,000 students over the next 20 years. The plan is primarily a fresh look at the making of sites and places on the campus. Specific uses and their locations are suggested in the plan, though neither is intended to be prescriptive. Flexibility will be needed over time. While it is fully expected that uses and massing will vary from those indicated, the overall patterns of buildings and landscaping should endure to provide guidelines for master planning decisions in the years to come.

	The Next Step achieves an additional three million gross square feet of academic space above the existing 1.4 million square feet on the current campus. Nineteen new academic buildings are proposed to be built over the next 20 years. The University has long been below the system-wide per student standard. The needed additional space will result in a substantial improvement to the square footage per-student ratio to approximately 90 square feet per-student, the current University system standard.

	On-campus housing is an essential ingredient in academic life and the 2000 Plan adds 2,400 new beds to bring the university residential population to approximately twenty percent of the total student body. This percentage is comparable to other institutions of this size in the United States and will maintain a balance of residential and commuter character on the campus. The plan is also designed to provide new graduate student housing near the south central area to accommodate expanding graduate studies and increased enrollment.

	The 2000 Plan establishes a completely internal campus loop road to minimize vehicular traffic through the academic core and give priority to pedestrians. The loop will enclose 200 acres and provide new sites for up to ten parking garages with approximately 7,000 spaces distributed to serve the campus and minimize impacts on the external traffic network. The loop road will also efficiently distribute service vehicles to consolidated points to reduce intrusion into the core.

	The 2000 Plan will create a system of well-connected open spaces surrounded by new and existing buildings. This organization of quads is fundamentally the same structure as renowned, memorable, campuses such as the University of Virginia and Stanford University. The system proposed for UNC Charlotte simply extends and enhances the patterns of buildings and landscape that exist on the campus today. Prominent among the new spaces is a crescent-shaped green space and main entry, establishing a signature, ceremonial approach into the campus from University Boulevard. Also notable is the shift of the north/south axis to take advantage of more gradual topography and the treatment of Toby Creek, proposed to become an expansive naturalistic watercourse to foster storm water management technologies, environmental education, and a wide variety of active and passive recreational uses.

	The 2000 Plan incorporates a new campus expansion between the western edge of Toby Creek and U.S. Highway 29 for the Charlotte Institute. The Charlotte Institute campus will establish a new connection to the community and to mass transit. It is suggested that as much as 1.5 million square feet of research and academic space could be accommodated and the campus will reflect the same commitment to sensitively placed buildings and well-placed green spaces, courtyards, and quads.

	In April of 2000 work on The Next Step plan began with interviews, analysis of existing conditions, and evaluation of the 1995 Master Plan. Simultaneously, the University proposed a comprehensive facilities program for growth to 30,000 students. From the analysis, and strong relationship to guidelines set forth in the previous plan, principles for the new plan began to emerge. Many ideas were strong confirmations of earlier goals including the core Visions and Values, while others were new (changes to Design Assumptions). Optional design studies were prepared following existing and newly discovered principles with focus on a preferred direction. Throughout the process the University Campus Planning Task Force, chaired by Dean Charles Hight, was actively involved in shaping the plan along with the participation of Chancellor James Woodward. Their observations and suggestions have contributed significantly to the proposals from the planning team.

	Following is a summary of the process and the resulting plan. Useful master plans must be fluid documents to meet conditions of certain change over time. It is the team’s intention that this plan be considered an evolving document with the potential for constant revision, while maintaining an underlying organizational structure for creating a memorable university setting at UNC Charlotte.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Facilities Management
9201 University City Blvd • Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
(704) 687-2154