Messiah College Master Planning Services

With the 2005 inauguration of Kim S. Phipps, PhD, Messiah College renewed its focus on planning for future population growth and institutional capacity. In that vein, the College retained a team of master planning consultants Delta Development Group, Edward D. Stone & Associates (EDSA), Gannett Fleming, and Murray Associates - to provide a strategy for the future development of the College's campus and adjacent parcels. The initial goal was to provide a comprehensive set of guidelines governing land utilization, campus utilities, transportation access (pedestrian and automobile), parking, and student housing.

In November 2005, the consultant team, with Delta in the lead, met with various community members, including students, alumni, faculty, and concerned citizens, in order to gather input before providing recommendations and concepts. Ideas ranged from policy-related issues to specific uses for open space and facilities. In coordination with a Steering Committee made up of representatives of the College, the consultant team worked to craft a vision of the College and its adjacent properties in light of the institution’s long-term goals and unique ethos of stewardship and service.

The consultant team has met with the project stakeholders and is synthesizing their input into visual concepts and narrative. Key outcomes have included a landscape rendering of what the campus could look like in 2050, the necessary utilities and parking to make that happen efficiently, and a market assessment identifying key sectors to target in the development of the College's non-institutional parcels that can generate revenue for the rest of the campus's growth.