University of Dayton Ghetto - Future

Future

In 2002, the University of Dayton released a Master Plan which called for the renovation and construction of several houses, an extension to Stonemill Road to connect directly to Evanston Avenue, and the enlargement and clean-up of the parking areas in the alleys behind the houses. Despite ongoing rumors, there were no plans to raze the Ghetto and replace it with more high-density housing and other university buildings, despite the landlocked nature of the campus.

In June 2005, before the plan could be realized, the university made a $25 million purchase of an additional 49 acres (200,000 m2)—much of the land which was once home to the NCR Corporation—as well as a new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) building on Brown Street. The area, renamed Mid Campus, prompted the development of a new Campus Master Plan.

While several new buildings have been planned, many of the changes that had been proposed to the Ghetto in the previous master plan are no longer included in the new plan. The largest feature affecting the student neighborhoods is a new building to the east of Alberta Street, between Chambers Street and Obell Court, on the Darkside. According to the draft of the master plan, the building is intended to be a sustainable residence hall, a 75- to 90-bed facility that would also include an educational wing. The proposed building would use technologies such as solar energy, geothermal heating and cooling, compost piles and low-flow showers. The plan also calls for a walk/bike greenway to link the neighborhood to the core of campus and the athletic complex.