‘We Are In A Position To Grow’: SMU Chief Architect Says Future Land Acquisitions Are Possible

Despite working on $1.4B worth of projects over the last five-plus years, Southern Methodist University’s chief architect said the school is still looking at growth opportunities.

While the bulk of the university’s property is west of U.S. Highway 75, its East Campus is just across the highway at SMU Boulevard. But SMU Chief Architect and Associate Vice President Michael Molina said the university’s property extends north to Fondren Drive and includes the land occupied by Cafe Brazil.  

“That is all future land planning growth for SMU,” he said during the Commercial Real Estate Women Network Dallas' September program luncheon Wednesday. “That could be research, STEM technology [or] collaborative with a private industry.”

When the university decides to utilize that land, Molina said it likely won’t be for student housing, as students don’t want to cross Highway 75 to get to campus.

“We're working on some strategies to [determine] how do we best utilize this space on the east of 75 to open up space on the West Campus for student life,” he said.

Since SMU is a landlocked campus, Molina said it is important that the university is efficient with land acquisitions. His department gets nearly weekly calls about acquisition opportunities, and SMU even did initial assessments on several of them when they were available, he said. 

“Those things fell apart for one reason or the other,” Molina said. “I would say any property contiguous to SMU, we would be highly interested to have a cup of coffee over. Even if it is Hillcrest [Avenue]-related, which means across the street. We are in a position to grow.”

Molina acknowledged that not all of the university’s neighbors want SMU to grow bigger. He noted pushback the university has received at past zoning hearings since SMU is exempt from federal income tax as an educational institution. 

“There was a comment about tax impact,” Molina said. “Yes, we do not pay taxes like a normal landowner. But in six and a half years, we've paid over $7.9M in permit fees for building construction.”

Molina also highlighted several projects SMU has completed as well as its new and upcoming projects. He said the $123M Garry Weber End Zone Complex is just wrapping up, while ground has been broken on the nearly 11K SF president's residence project at the corner of Dublin Street and Daniel Avenue. 

The university’s next big project will be the Rees-Jones Library of the American West. Molina said that 84K SF library will cost nearly $79M to construct. SMU's website says it will house the Rees-Jones collection of historical items and enhance its reputation as a top school for the study of the American West.