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T he Facilities and Grounds focus area
of the Strategic Framework drove the
Campus Master Plan process. AHA
engaged with the Opus AE Group, a local
architectural firm that has a rich history with
AHA, having served as the architects on the
StarDome and Convocation Center projects.
The Facilities and Grounds summary state-
ment is intent on “planning, developing and
maintaining a state-of-the-art physical envi-
ronment in keeping with the heritage and
unique architecture of the buildings, and to
sustain AHA as a dynamic learning environ-
ment into the future.”
The plan needed to be flexible to deliver on
near-term needs, as well as carry AHA into
the future (10-15 year vision).
The Opus team began the work in fall 2012 to
create the Campus Master Plan, which also
followed a collaborative process guided by a
taskforce team with wide representation from
the following AHA constituent groups:
school leaders, parents, alumni, Blessed
Trinity School, St. Peter’s Church, City of
Richfield, Hennepin County and the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Carondelet. An over-riding
goal of the process was to take a fresh look
at the campus and create innovative ways it
can respond to the increasing academic de-
mands, while enhancing the beauty of the
physical environment, maintaining AHA’s
unique brand identity, continuing to contrib-
ute to the urban revitalization in Richfield
and minimizing impact on neighbors.
Specific areas to address:
Improve traffic flow and management
Improve learning spaces
Improve sports fields and playing
surfaces
Enhance parking for students, faculty
and guests
Maximize use of existing buildings,
spaces and facilities
Why a Campus Master Plan?
S ince the 2011-12 academic year, the AHA administration, faculty and
staff, along with the Board of Trustees, have been hard at work creating a Strate-gic Framework — a 5-10 year plan de-signed to guide activities and initiatives of the school and its leadership team toward a successful and vibrant future. A collaborative process was implement-ed to create this flexible plan, which amplifies AHA’s unique and distinct posi-tion in the marketplace as a leading faith-based college preparatory institution. The framework is rooted in unchanged Mission, Purpose, Vision and Values statements — all core to AHA’s unique identity — and outlines nine focus areas with well-defined focal statements, stra-tegic approaches, as well as priorities and metrics to guide AHA forward. Focus Areas:
Academics Faith Development
Co-Curricular Activities/Athletics
Personnel Resources
Enrollment/Marketing/PR
Fundraising /Development
Finance
Governance
Facilities/Grounds As part of the Strategic Framework pro-cess, new financial goals were also estab-lished including:
Create and build an endowment
Retire debt
Expand AHA’s Annual Fund to close the gap between tuition receipts and the real costs of educating each student
Expand the financial aid program to provide greater access to deserving students
Enhance faculty compensation and professional development opportu-nities
This document is intended to deliver accurate easy-to-understand information and back-ground related to the Academy of Holy Angels’ (AHA) Campus Master Plan, including the potential retail opportunity. Please review this document. If you have questions or comments, contact Brian McCartan, AHA Director of Development, at 612.798.2618 or [email protected], or Gary Rufsvold, AHA Special Projects, at 612.798.2601 or [email protected].
A cademic institutions typically have endowments in place, which are investment tools that generate sustainable revenue to meet the school’s annual operating fund needs. As a rule of
thumb, a vibrant endowment is funded with a total of one to one-and-a-half times a school’s yearly operating budget. AHA’s operational budget is about $10 million annually, so AHA’s endowment goal is $10-15 million to be in place by 2020. AHA presently has a pool of restricted funds, which will serve as a foundation for the Endowment. Over the past two decades AHA has acquired nearly $10 million in debt due to three key events: the
StarDome Project in 1996, the Convocation Center Project in 2003 and the purchase of the school
and land from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, also in 2003. The interest rate on the debt was
recently renegotiated to a favorable range of 2.4 to 4.5 percent; however, by 2020, our goal is to
retire the debt in order to allow school leadership to redirect this funding to invest in other key are-
as of the school.
About the Endowment & AHA’s Debt
A H A 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N
AHA Establishes a Strategic Framework
A Vision for Our Future
A H A 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N
Campus Master Plan —The Retail Opportunity
I n 2012, while the Campus Master Planning process
was initially underway, AHA received an offer from
Semper Development, a local retail developer, to
purchase a portion of the school’s east lawn along 66th
St. and Nicollet Ave. Semper indicated a desire to create
a low-profile retail space, currently called the “Mission
Shops,” which would house two to three retail tenants
well suited for a high school campus, including the po-
tential tenants such as a Walgreens-like drug store, a cof-
fee shop, a sandwich shop, a bank and a frozen yogurt
store.
Semper’s final land purchase offer is nearly six times the
appraised land value and fits with the AHA Campus Mas-
ter Plan goals and more importantly, will be a boon to AHA’s fi-
nancial goals, especially in positioning the school for future debt
reduction and establishing the Endowment. Board of Trustees
members, school leaders, and the collaborative taskforce group
felt this opportunity was an innovative approach worth exploring
and so the Opus architect team began working the retail opportuni-
ty into the overall Campus Master Plan potential.
The Campus Master Plan was created and reviewed with AHA
leaders and the Board of Trustees in the spring of 2013. It is esti-
mated at about $15 million for capital improvements to be execut-
ed in a phased approach. (This total reflects AHA improvements
only and does not include the Semper-led retail project.)
Above is a site map showing the overall improvements of the Campus Master Plan with a Legend detailing the key areas of im-
provement. Note that the traffic flow and management is significantly enhanced with a new traffic entrance on 66th St., and two
additional new school /retail entrances off 66th St. and Nicollet Ave., as well as an enhanced entrance for the current main traffic
route for the campus (see 1, 3 & 6 above).
Legend
7. Boiler Building & Alumni Hall 8. Improved St. Peter’s Parking 9. Improved Junior Lot 10. Southwest Athletic Field 11. Quad 12. STARS Training Facility 13. Retail
1. 66th St. Gateway Entrance 2. Theater Lawn 3. School/Missions Shops
Entrance 4. Front Lawn 5. Promenade &
Front Entrance 6. Nicollet Gateway Entrance
T he Campus Master Plan includes many features designed to
make more effective use of AHA’s resources and facilities
in order to sustain and ensure that the school can offer the best
education possible to young people now and far into the future.
Some key features of the plan include:
A promenade and usable front door (see 5 on site map)
Renovating the boiler plant building and creating an
Alumni Hall (see 7 on site map)
Improving parking surfaces (see 8 & 9 on site map)
A P L A N F O R O U R
F U T U R E A H A 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N
Upgrading the existing southwest athletic field (see 10 on
site map)
Developing of an outdoor quad space for student gather-
ings and activities (see 11 on site map)
Replacing the existing StarDome vestibule with a multi-
level Stars Training Facility (see 12 on site map), com-
plete with new sports locker rooms, weight room, training
areas, a dance studio, and team meeting/classroom areas
Campus Master Plan Features
Above: a rendering of the front elevation of AHA from the new Nicollet Ave. school and “Missions Shops” entrance. This entrance brings new life to AHA’s iconic front doorway and stairs—a part of the school that virtually has been underutilized for years. Note the architecturally aligned buildings meld with the school.
A H A 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N
Above: an illustration of the enhanced traffic entrance at 67th and Nicollet Ave. Note the entrance sign, which deliv-ers a collegiate campus feel to the school, as well as the name of the retail space as “Mission Shops.”
Above: the main level of the boiler building will be trans-formed into an Alumni Hall to serve as a meeting and entertainment space for class reunions, wedding recep-tions and community events.
Right: the space between the StarDome and the Convo-cation Center will become an inviting quad for student gatherings and activities.
Campus Master Plan Features
Benefits for AHA
Important Safeguards are Part of the Plan
The final retail purchase agreement would outline safeguards to
ensure AHA has rights of refusal over the building design, as well
as the retail tenants in the Mission Shops space. A low-profile
building — gothic in style and architecturally aligned with
AHA’s design aesthetic with clean and subtle signage — are also
mandated per the agreement.
Next Steps
By the end of 2013 the AHA Board of Trustees, the school’s gov-
ernance body, will approve, set and finalize the direction for the
Campus Master Plan including the retail opportunity. For any
questions or comments, please contact Brian McCartan, Director of
Development, at 612.798.2618 or [email protected] .
A H A 2 0 2 0 V I S I O N
Accelerates the Campus Master Plan and AHA’s revitaliza-
tion effort with an unprecedented lead investment valued at
nearly 30 percent of the future total costs of the project.
This opportunity delivers nearly $6 million in cash
from the sale of the land, which will kick-start
development efforts for the Campus Master Plan and
will help the school more effectively meet its finan-
cial goals.
Delivers an additional multi-million dollar investment in cam-
pus infrastructure benefits to AHA, including the additional
school/Mission Shops entrances to the campus, landscaping,
enhanced safety measures, and an eight-foot, wrought-iron
fence.
Modernizes our campus with retail offerings that add value
and conveniences for our students, parents and the AHA
community.
Generates potential innovative curriculum opportuni-
ties — we envision a unique partnership with the retail-
ers, who can come to AHA to teach course units related
to business operations, science, retail strategies, bank-
ing/financial literacy, marketing and other real-world
business concepts.
Utilizes our assets in an efficient manner — the plan is
an effective use of the underutilized east lawn asset,
which becomes a vibrant and lively component of the
AHA campus.
Aligns with 66th St. and Lyndale/Nicollet revitalization
effort underway in Richfield. In fact, nearly 35,000
vehicles pass the Nicollet & 66th St. intersection each
day and this development could be an important contri-
bution to the city’s life and increase its revenue base.
H oly Angels is blessed with resources in land and facilities. How the school leader-
ship stewards those resources in support of our students is key to the school’s
future. The retail opportunity is a move that could generate revenue for AHA and se-
cure other key campus infrastructure benefits, while driving a beneficial use of an un-
derutilized asset. Here are some of the plan’s primary benefits:
You Should Know…
The improvements described in AHA’s Campus Master Plan will benefit students for decades to come —students like AHA’s 2013-14 Merit Scholar-ship honorees. (left to right: Colin Harris, Caroline Riester, Grace Lomauro, and Venessa Scott).
