COUNCIL FOR THE BUilT ENVIRONMENT Co-Chairs: Dr. Carol A. Fierke, Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Jerry R. Strawser, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer May 14, 2021 MEMORANDUM TO: Dr. John L. Junkins Interim President, Texas A&M University SUBJECT: CBE Recommendation: Athletic Facilities and Programming Plan The CBE reviewed a request from Athletics for approval of an Athletics Facilities and Programming Plan. In alignment with the 2017 Campus Master Plan, this plan would guide the facilities and programming development for the Athletics area, including fundraising efforts. This plan follows the precedent set by the Corps of Cadets Facilities and Programming Plan which was approved in 2017 and, if approved, should be viewed as an amendment to the 2017 Campus Master Plan. Athletics worked with Populous to develop the plan and consulted with campus stakeholders such as Office of the University Architect and Transportation Services. The plan focuses on the future facility needs of the Athletics department and addresses their alignment with the Campus Master Plan. This plan is intended to guide future development; however, there is the possibility the plan could be amended in the future if departmental needs change. If approved, this plan will help Athletics with the development of new buildings, including determination of priorities and images for fundraising. The Athletics program is located within the Athletics and Recreation character zone of the CMP (pages I 02- 105). This zone currently has about 2.4 million gsf, and the CMP notes there is potential to add an additional 1.36 million gsf. The proposed Athletics Facilities and Programming Plan is in alignment with the Campus Development Plan as projects demonstrate: synergies and intermixing of program uses; open space is reinforced by creating new spaces in between buildings; and existing and new pedestrian connections are reinforced. The site and development plan show a small increase in density from the CMP, an increase in connectivity between buildings, and building massing appropriate to the typologies. Planned projects included as part of this plan are: • East of Wellborn Road: o Removal of Mcferrin Athletic Center. Removes temporary indoor practice facilities for track and football located south of Kyle Field along Wellborn Road. o New Indoor Practice Facility. Contains 140-yard practice field and will have a connection to the Bright Complex. o New Gameday Plaza. Located north of the new practice facility, this would allow for tailgate areas and parking outside of gameday. Also includes a designated area for broadcasting vehicles. Jack K. Williams Administration Building , Suite 100 1248 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-1248 USA Tel +1 979.845.4016 Fax +1 979.845 .6994 http://cbe.tamu.edu/ May 14, 2021 CBE Recommendation: Athletic Facilities and Programming Plan Page 2 o New Student Athlete Academic Center. Three-story facility adjacent to the practice facility, approximately 80,000 gsf. It is intended to utilize the same materials palette as the Player Development Center. o New Outdoor Football Practice Fields. Three fields located south of the indoor facility. o Connection between Davis Center and Player Development Facility. o Connection to Aggie Park. New 12 ' wide pedestrian connection. o New Ceremonial Entry Drive. In the CMP thi s is shown as corning off of George Bush Drive, but due to the planned grade separation in this area the drive is reconfigured to tie into Houston Street. It forms a center axis aligning with the Bright Building. Refer to figure I for graphical representation. o New Parking. Addition of approximately 200 spaces. • West of Wellborn Road o Removal of existing outdoor track facility. o New Indoor Track Facility. o New Outdoor Throws Area. o Removal of existing old softball stadium. o New Covered Multi-Purpose Turf facility. o Renovation of Soccer Stadium. o Potential New Soccer and Athletic Support Building. Located south of the West Campus Player Development Center. o Addition of Pedestrian Corridor. To include 12 ' wide pedestrian paths. All renderings and floor plans shown in the plan are conceptual to be used for fundraising efforts only. RECOMMENDATIONS The Design Review Sub-council (DRsc) voted to recommend approval of the Athletics Facilities and Programming Plan with the following caveats: • Approval of the plan is limited to use as a guide for prioritizing and fundraising efforts to help set a plan for future growth. • As funding becomes available and projects are ready to proceed with implementation, they need to be submitted to the CBE for review and approval. • Alignments and building placements as conceptually proposed (2-dirnentional and 3-dirnensional representations) will supersede the 20 l 7 CMP. As projects are funded and developed, the 2017 CMP remains the guiding document as it pertains to character zones and design guidelines. • Before saving as the final report, Athletics must provide a revised plan which removes any use of the term "district plan" which is outdated. In alignment with the 2017 CMP, this is a Facilities and Programming Plan and should be correctly labeled. • Renderings of these proposed new facilities are taken as conceptual only and are serving as placeholders. It is the expectation of the DRsc that the designs will be further elevated and will allow for comment in regard to the development of architectural features, vocabulary, etc. • It is recommended that for graphical purposes, the buildings are expressed more in terms of geometry rather than a specific design, so as not to set any expectations on building aesthetics before the design process has begun. • As design progresses on the new indoor football practice facility, project team must carefully study the relationship between the facility and Wellborn Road. Explore whether the facility can be pushed back farther from the road or what other design strategies could be used to provide a buffer between May 14, 2021 CBE Recommendation: Athletic Facilities and Programming Plan Page 3 the new facility and the road. Also, the design team must carefully study the balance between the massive size of the proposed new facility and the monumentality of Kyle Field. This will require a study on how to appropriately combine architectural elements from the existing facility to tie into the new, in terms of use and scale. Design team should consider innovative ways to reduce the appearance/size of the practice facility to address human scale. • New projects should consider incorporation of Low Impact Development (LID) management strategies when designing associated outdoor / landscape areas. • Utility corridors need to defined and, in keeping with existing strategy, located under the new driveways. The Maintenance Review Sub-council (Msc) recommends approval of the Update to the Athletics District Plan. The Technical Review Sub-council (TRsc) supports the proposed request to move forward with the Athletics Facilities and Programming Plan and recommends approval provided the following issues/concerns are addressed. Environmental Health & Safety • Ensure that fire lanes or aerial access requirements are met per the International Fire Code Office of Budgeting & Analytical Services • Each project will need to come back with a full financial review as they move forward . Utility & Energy Services • Because of the proposed 80,000 sq. foot building and the indoor football facility, our main concern is the availability of thermals to the project area. Controlling humidity to the indoor football facility could be another concern. o Thermals would need to come from the lines that UES dead-ended at Stallings and Joe Routt. These are 20-inch CHW and 12-inch HHW. 1 would suggest they be tied into the existing Kyle Field lines as they are installed to the south. o There is an 18-inch DCW line that crosses under Wellborn Road near Olsen Field is under the existing football practice field that can be used to supply the facility. • As the project nears design, other boilerplate remarks would be as follows; o Acceptance from UES must be obtained during design and before any installation. Project drawing reviews should be filtered through the UES Project Review team for prompt disbursement and turnaround. The Project review team includes individuals from multiple crafts such as BAS, Metering, Electrical, Plumbing, along with other areas of the UES team. On top of contacting Tech Services, please make sure to include the U ES project review team as well: Tech Services - [email protected] I Project Review - [email protected]. o If any utility system(s) will need to be modified or added to as part of the project, the project design team will need to follow the applicable T AMU Design Standards: https://uti Iities.tamu.edu /design-standards/ o Any excavation or modification to the area will need to follow the policy for digging on campus: https://utilities.tamu.edu/digging-campus/ o The project and design team will need to coordinate and work closely with Building Automation and Metering ([email protected]) to ensure proper system operation for the proposed spaces. May 14, 2021 CBE Recommendation: Athletic Facilities and Programming Plan Page 4 • Since the Kyle Field area of the project is slated for FY23, we would like to defer our specific concerns about the West Campus portion until that phase is closer to design. The CBE voted to recommend, with noted caveats, the President's approval of the request from Athletics for approval of the conceptual design of an Athletics Facilities and Programming Plan. 5/24/2021 oc /,, fl.I Mark H. Weichold Date Je R. trawser Date Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Co-Chair, Council for the Built Environment Co-Chair, Council for the Built Environment Approved: Date Attachment cc: Sub-Council Chairs, Council for the Built Environment Kevin Hurley, Associate Athletic Director for Facilities ATHLETIC FACILITIES AND PROGRAMMING PLAN APRIL 5, 2021 ATHLETIC FACILITIES DISTRICT PLAN UPDATE PROPOSED BRIGHT ATHLETIC COMPLEX PLAN APRIL 5, 2021 ATHLETIC FACILITIES DISTRICT PLAN UPDATE Bright Athletic Complex Current Site Plan Houston St.