Business Activity Impact Report

BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

As a major research university that drives economic progress, UT Arlington engages in extensive construction projects that benefit the campus and surrounding communities. This activity—totaling almost $300 million in the past three years—has created substantial employment opportunities and buoyed residential and commercial development in downtown Arlington.

Central to this development is College Park Center, a 7,000-seat special events venue that opened in February 2012. The $78 million showpiece, which serves as the home court for the Maverick basketball and volleyball teams, already has hosted concerts and commencement exercises, as well as major sporting, cultural, and community events. The architecturally striking facility is expected to draw up to 400,000 patrons during its first year of operation.

College Park Center anchors the College Park District, a 20-acre development that is accelerating the resurgence of downtown Arlington. The district features the $80 million College Park residential and retail complex, which includes a residence hall and apartments for 600 students, a wide selection of street-level restaurants, and parking structures for 1,800 vehicles. The district also encompasses the Dan Dipert University Welcome Center and The Green at College Park, a 2.6-acre urban oasis just south of College Park Center.

Within walking distance of the bustling College Park District sits the $116 million Engineering Research Building, which opened in 2011. The state-of-the-art structure features 234,000 square feet of collaborative, high-tech lab, classroom, and office space that is spawning research partnerships in health care, aging, national defense, and other critical-need areas. One project pairs bioengineers and mathematicians to develop technology to help amputees control and feel bionic limbs. Other research matches biologists with electrical engineers to detect viruses and fight pancreatic cancer, and bioengineers with physics professors to improve drug delivery systems for cardiovascular disease.

When embarking on new construction initiatives, UT Arlington is committed to attaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) benchmarks. College Park Center and the Engineering Research Building both achieved LEED Gold certification, and The Green at College Park is one of three projects worldwide to receive certification from the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

Generating an Urban Vibrancy

Look no further than downtown Arlington to see how a thriving university can help re-energize a languishing city sector. With UT Arlington playing a leading role, the downtown area has quickly morphed into a popular dining and entertainment destination.

Working side-by-side, University and city leaders shared a vision of creating a booming urban environment that would offer something for everyone. The result: a revitalized corridor featuring restaurants, shops, performance venues, parks, and nightlife.

Coupled with Arlington’s other nearby attractions, such as the high-profile Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers professional sports franchises, these new additions have helped make the central business district a prime spot for private investors.

Helping fuel the renaissance, UT Arlington has constructed a city within a city with the development of the 20-acre College Park District that forms the nucleus of the downtown area. This multi-use development is the University’s capstone for creating a true college town environment and includes College Park Center, The Green at College Park, student residences, a high-tech welcome center, restaurants, and parking for 1,800 vehicles.

Also central to the resurgence is the College Town UTA initiative. The program raises awareness of UT Arlington’s prominence and economic importance to the region while positioning downtown Arlington as a place for dramatic growth and redevelopment.