Arizona State University campuses across the Valley and even out of state will see millions in university funds for construction in the coming few years.

The university on Thursday received approvals from the Arizona Board of Regents related to several large construction projects, including a new dorm in downtown Phoenix, a pedestrian bridge in Tempe and renovations to a historic building in Los Angeles.

There’s also a major science and technology building underway in Tempe that incorporates a ditch into its design. That project's costs have run higher than expected so far.

Here are details on what you’ll see being built around campus, based on details included in board documents for Thursday's meeting.

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology 7

Cost: $192 million

Projected completion: January 2022

The board approved an additional $17 million for a research building called ISTB 7 on the Tempe campus. The building was previously estimated to cost $175 million.

The triangle-shaped building, located at the southwest corner of University Drive and Rural Road, will house research facilities, including “innovative endeavors focusing on the sustainability of food, water and energy.”

Labs for biological sciences, engineering, life sciences and sustainability will be in the building, which will possibly include labs for computing, cybersecurity, engineering and robotics, the university says on its website.

A couple factors increased the building’s cost. Construction was delayed because the university had to negotiate to use a historic ditch located on the site. And a high-pressure nitrogen line and a Southwest Gas line were discovered near the ditch that was not in any documents or reports when the parcels were reviewed.

Construction is set to begin as soon as the university gets approval to access the ditch from the Bureau of Reclamation.

Interesting fact: About that ditch … The Kirkland-McKinney ditch runs on the project site, and ASU is incorporating it into its design. Renderings for the building show the ditch with water running through a lobby/courtyard area that has trees in it.

Pedestrian Bridge

Cost: $15 million

Projected completion: January 2022

If you’ve ever walked, driven or rode any other kind of transportation in Tempe, you know navigating the busy intersection at University Drive and Rural Road is a challenge.

A new pedestrian bridge will cross University Drive near the Rural Road intersection.

The bridge will connect ISTB 7 on the south side of University with the Novus Innovation Corridor on the north side, which is also under construction. The funding will come from bonds, board documents say.

The school has a pedestrian bridge now that spans University near Palm Walk.

Interesting fact: The bridge will connect into the second floor of ISTB 7 and the third floor of a parking structure in Novus. Both buildings will provide accessible entry points for people with disabilities.

Innovation dorm

Cost: $50 million in bonds to lease from third party, plus operations costs.

Projected completion: Fall 2021

A new 16-floor dorm, referred to as a “residence hall and entrepreneurial center,” located on the southwest corner of Fillmore Street and First Avenue in downtown Phoenix should help address ongoing shortages in housing for students at the downtown campus.

The dorm, which will be built by a third party instead of ASU, will focus on innovation, with special spaces for creative work, co-working, design and fabrication labs, according to board documents.

ASU programs in music, fashion and design are set to move to the downtown campus in Fall 2021. The first three floors of the new dorm will house the spaces for these and other programs, board documents say.

The university acknowledges it hasn’t met housing demands for its downtown campus. Especially with the move of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and the opening of the Thunderbird School for Global Management facility, the school needs more rooms for students.

The new dorm will provide 532 beds, with studios, two-bedroom units and “four-bedroom apartment-style units.”

An outside developer, Downtown Phoenix Student Housing II, will lease the land from ASU and pay for the construction and operation of the project, and ASU will lease the academic and entrepreneurial space from them. The university will issue about $50 million in bonds to prepay the lease and purchase furniture and equipment. Tuition will fund the debt service. The school will also pay more than $500,000 annually for operations and maintenance costs, also funded by tuition.

Interesting fact: As part of the project, ASU is purchasing the site where a Bank of America sits today at Fillmore and First Avenue for about $1 million. But there will still be Bank of America ATM access there because the dorm will incorporate an ATM and drive-through into the building.

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Los Angeles Herald Examiner building

Cost: $36 million

Projected completion: 2021

Watch out, Los Angeles: ASU is coming to town. And spending millions on renovations to make its entry into the market.

The university announced last year that it was going to renovate the historic Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles to boost its footprint in California.

The space has largely been vacant for decades and requires major renovations. The improvements will turn the building into an “innovative, state-of-the-art learning center.”

The university hopes the site will increase its partnerships in Los Angeles and create a “hub” in the city for “innovation and entrepreneurship,” according to board documents.

Regent Lyndel Manson said at Thursday’s board meeting that the Los Angeles venture is an “iconic move” that is a “high-potential, high-visibility opportunity for ASU with an incredible potential return for us.”

Interesting fact: LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both investors in a firm that’s a part-owner of the building, the Los Angeles Times reported. Michael Crow, meet your new landlords.

Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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