As the academic semester draws to a close, so does another semester of student growth at the Mercado, the Spanish-style building cluster southeast of the Arizona Center.
The Mercado, located between Van Buren, Monroe, Fifth and Seventh streets, consists of six buildings, two of which ASU operates in, according to Marla Dela Cruz, office specialist senior with ASU’s Meeting and Conference Services. The complex currently houses around 150 ASU classes, as well as offices, conference space, retail operations and local organizations.
The 150-class mark will likely be surpassed next semester, Dela Cruz said, adding that the tentative schedule for the spring semester shows about 180 classes in the A and C buildings of Mercado.
“Every semester we get more and more classes offered at Mercado,” she said.
The space at the Mercado was initially developed as an “entertainment and shopping venue downtown,” former Phoenix mayor Terry Goddard said.
During his tenure as mayor, Goddard oversaw the birth of the Mercado complex, but he said the property had a hard time living up to its full potential.
“We did lots of things over the years to use that space, but they never quite had the formula,” Goddard said. “When ASU came in, it was probably the highest and best use of the property that started for something entirely different.”
Goddard added that the Mercado brings a different dynamic to the Downtown campus, which has many multistory buildings in its hub.
“It is very attractive as classroom space,” he said. “I’ve never been a fan of these high-rise set-ups. Students are better served by more informal, close-to-the-streets classrooms.”
Student opinions were overwhelmingly positive about the Mercado facilities, praising the classroom layouts, the expediency of technical support for the complex and use of stadium seating in some lecture halls. However, some students voiced concern over the distance from the other Downtown campus buildings.
“I bike here so I’d say it’s convenient,” health sciences sophomore Maricris Solema said. “If I didn’t have a bike, I’d say it would definitely be inconvenient … I would try my best not to take any classes (at Mercado).”
Solema currently takes one class at Mercado along with four other Downtown classes. Last year she made the trip to Mercado on foot, which takes about ten minutes.
Dela Cruz said the inconvenience of the Mercado’s location is all a matter of comparison.
“In my perspective, I don’t see the distance being far because when I go to Tempe, it’s like, ‘Wow! That’s huge!’” she said. “The only difference you have with Mercado is you don’t have ASU buildings you’re passing along the way.”
Instead, students making the trip to Mercado on foot pass through blocks of downtown Phoenix. Many make stops along the way, frequenting businesses such as Starbucks and the recently opened Corner Bakery.
“You have to remember that you can’t consider (Mercado) in a vacuum,” Goddard said, adding that Mercado’s neighbors — including the Arizona Science Center in Heritage Square — likely feel the impact of higher student traffic.
But the growth of the student population at the Mercado does not correlate directly with increased retail numbers for local businesses, according to Crave Sandwich Cafe owner and proprietor Tom Goldman. He said the previous use of the space brought in large conference crowds.
“It’s helped because it’s more consistent (business),” Goldman said, comparing the use of Mercado space for classes instead of conferences. “But during the summer it gets really quiet.”
He added that the growth he has seen in the student numbers has been gradual, but he hopes the numbers continue to rise.
“I wish (ASU) could utilize this property a bit more,” Goldman said. “Sometimes it just kills me that no one’s here.”
Some students, like nutrition freshman Emily Roberts, choose to spend time in the open spaces of Mercado.
“I like to come here to sit and study,” Roberts said. She currently has two classes in Mercado, although she admitted that she has only eaten at Crave once or twice.
“Even if it’s just a cup of coffee, that’s one more cup of coffee sold,” Dela Cruz said.
Roberts is hardly alone when she sits at the concrete benches and tables in the plaza area of the Mercado. Many other students and faculty spend lunch hours eating and chatting in the fresh air.
“Last year, I never saw anybody at those tables or in the store or in the halls,” Solema said. “Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people hanging out here.”
Another mayor of a less official status said he has noticed an increase in the student numbers each of his four years at Mercado.
“I would say there are definitely more this year than there were in past years,” said Travis McCoy, an industrial technology specialist with the Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College and “mayor” of Mercado on social-networking website Foursquare.
“As more people attend the Downtown campus, I know there is a shortage of space,” he said in an email. “I think there are a lot more classes scheduled in the Mercado that were once scheduled in UCENT or CRONK.”
Contact the reporter at mauro.whiteman@asu.edu
