OFPD is notorious for not updating it's website. Sometimes it takes them six months to make their monthly update, yet they have a staffer who's main responsibility is to update fac/staff/students on projects and such. They do a horrible job at it. With 6 major construction projects going on, the least they could do would be a blog or some shit with weekly updates, percentages completed on projects, whats going on this week, etc. Since were (i'm taking some grad classes there right now) footing the bill for 4 of 6 of these projects through student use fees, the least they could do is communicate with us. Hell, they OWE us that much. They'll ramble to the student paper a few times a semester about pending projects, but they act like they are doing us a big favor with info updates. If it wasnt for the student fee projects, most of them wouldnt have jobs with the university. I find their attitude disrespectful and paternalistic.
/rant.
So who the hell knows what is planned and what isnt. The 2020 plan (title of the master plan) is only a guide tho. It was dramatically re-done in 2004 and they have already veered from it; for example, the rec center is larger and further west than called for (only slightly) and the new dorms/student apartments (Laurel Village) is on the other side of Walter Brennan Blvd. from where it was supposed to go due to costs associated with elevation changes at the original location. (the new location looks to have the exact same damn elevation changes, but I'm no surveyor, so whatever). Also, the new Sam Barshop Drive, linking the north and south campus on the west side of the university will be built further east than what the the 2020 plan called for.
The map of UTSA 'as it exists today' is dated to 2004, and does not show the presence of completed projects including the Garage 3 (the parking garage on the north side of campus visible from Loop 1604), the Roadrunner Cafe dining hall, the three new recreational intramural fields, the intramural field house, the Valero Way parking lots, or the East Campus connector road.
Maybe Complex01 does have some inside info. But dude, dont get all butt-hurt cause people want to know sources. It happens all the time on this board cause others like to talk about 'potential' projects as if they had already broken ground. All of us here in SA have had our hearts broken about 15 times this last year over design and height changes in the convention center hotel, the Vidorra, etc. Also, were visual folx. Where there are references, there are usually more renderings, etc. As you know, we dig that shit.
I do like the renderings for the east campus stuff. I'm not doubting your source, but if construction began on the east campus stuff, it will be the tinyest of baby steps over there. This is for several reasons; 1) There is absolutely NO infrastructure over on that part of campus, save a road they just put in (East campus connector road). It is not part of the new electrical distribution loop, is not serviced by any of the steam or chiller plants, and has no sewer, gas or water service. Sewer service can be reached by tying in to the main line under UTSA blvd, which was just upgraded three years ago. Water can come from the line running east of the campus under Valero Way. Gas and electrical service would have to be extended from the central campus, under the arroyo. That whole area has minimal topsoil, so there would have to be monumental drilling through the limestone just to lay services. They'll have to do all that anyhow someday, but that cost would be shouldered by the university and would run into the tens of millions of dollars. Sure they could fold that cost into an initial building project over there, but I would suspect that they would try to build out some of the rest of the core campus (north of the business building and HSS, south of the arts building, etc) before they start on the east campus, just to save some money. You know, putting off the huge associated expense as long as they could. But hell, if space for the sciences and engineering (the programs slated to be located on east campus) is that badly needed, they might have to move faster, but that brings issue #2...
Funding. There is no currently identified or allocated funding for buildings on the East Campus. It hasnt even been identified as a priority by UTSA to the UT System through the 2011 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). (See:
http://www.utsystem.edu/bor/meetings.htm) Can they add things to it, I'm sure, but from 2001 to present, UTSA has completed, or is building about a half a billion dollars worth of projects on the 1604 campus alone. East campus, just to get going is going to be expensive. Page 47 of the 2020 Master plan has a schedule of construction, expected funding, and completion dates through the end of the plan. It is available at
http://www.utsa.edu/ofpd/1604%20mast...site/main.html
I'm also intrigued as to where the 5-story 'south campus' parking garage is going to be built. It dosent even appear in the 2020 plan. I am curious about the construction timeline...
Finally, the university has scheduled the "We've got game" student referendum on athletics funding (also known as the 'football vote') for September 11-12. The university has created a promotional video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aYOwQ0Pkq4
They got my vote.