This editorial was published by the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick.
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The engine that has been pushing Washington State University Tri-Cities toward a new era is about to go into overdrive.
Thanks to an agreement reached between WSU Tri-Cities and a private developer, the campus finally will be able to provide on-site student housing.
This is a pivotal development.
No matter how many additional degree programs and student activities it offered, without campus housing WSU Tri-Cities likely would remain a commuter school with untapped potential.
The addition of student housing, however, means WSU's Richland campus can attract more students from outside the community - even nationally and internationally - and that translates to growth and transformation.
Eventually, WSU Tri-Cities could become a destination campus, which is an exciting possibility and one that the new WSU president seems to have embraced.
WSU President Kirk Schulz, who has been on the job only a couple of months, was in the community last week to announce that WSU Tri-Cities has signed a long-term lease agreement with Corporate Pointe Developers to build a $60 million, 713-bed student residence on the Richland campus.
The new complex will be built in seven phases on the school's north end. Corporate Pointe will break ground as soon as it can so that the first 165 rooms can be open to students by fall 2017.
When the facility is complete, it will offer 335 units with a mix of one to four bedrooms, with some configured for families and couples. Plans include a clubhouse, outdoor swimming pool and basketball court and recreation facilities.
Schulz told the Tri-City Herald editorial board that he envisions each of the WSU campuses around the state will be successful in its own way. WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Keith Moo-Young added that the relationship will no longer be like a "big brother" and "little brother," but will become a more even playing field among all WSU locations.
We like where this is going.
When WSU regents were conducting their search for a new president, we said we hoped they would find someone who understands the Tri-Cities' unique position in the WSU system, and has a vision that extends beyond the main campus in Pullman.
The relationship between the Richland campus and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is unmatched. The connection between PNNL and a number of engineering firms in the community could turn WSU Tri-Cities into a polytechnic destination campus in its own right. But it needs support from WSU officials in Pullman to get there.
In addition, the new Ste. Michelle wine science center on the Richland campus is a world-class facility that could distinguish the Tri-Cities as a premier leader in the wine industry.
It should be able to attract viticulture and enology students from around the globe, but students don't enroll in college programs if they can't easily find a place to live. That's why campus housing is so critical to the future of the Richland campus.
It looks like WSU Tri-Cities is on the edge of a huge transformation, and student housing could be the catalyst.
We are excited to see what successes might come from this one, key development, and we are encouraged that the new WSU president is supporting the growth.
