Central Michigan University announces a master plan update

In 2013, Central Michigan University (CMU) implemented a master plan to meet the university’s goals and improve student life. Now, with many of those plans approaching completion, CMU has announced a master plan update. 

Both CMU’s 2013 master plan and 2017 capital plan update will provide guidance for the new master plan update. Jonathan Webb, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management, says that the master plan update is meant to uphold the goals met by previous plans and develop facilities and infrastructure that meet the needs of university students, staff, and faculty. 

“It’s more of a limited effort that’s going to maintain that foundation from the 2013 master plan, and provide an update based on the changes that have occurred in the state, and here at CMU, so that we have a more current and updated master plan,” says Webb.

Some outcomes for this plan may include landscape design, new construction, demolition and renovations, as well as transportation and parking solutions. 

Recognizing the City of Mt Pleasant recently completed a 2050 Master Plan, CMU officials will be coordinating with city officials as they work through the CMU master plan update. “We will be working with the city planners and discussing how the CMU master plan update aligns with the city’s 2050 plan,” says Webb.  

In preparation for the updates, CMU has begun hosting several virtual meetings which allow for the CMU community to provide their insight and ideas on what the master plan update should provide. 

“As we go through these initial data gathering phases, we’re going to be focusing on students, faculty, and staff as we work to make the update,” says Webb. “We will be engaging with the city after we do the initial stages of data gathering.”
 
Once planning and data gathering is complete, Webb says it will be a focused effort in updating the previous plans.