The University of Texas at San Antonio’s master plan for growth over the next decade envisions 45,000 students, up from about 32,000 now.

The plan, approved Wednesday by the UT System’s Board of Regents, outlines the university’s long-sought Downtown Campus expansion, including pedestrian connections and shared community facilities with the West Side neighborhood across the railroad tracks.

It foresees an open space called the Via Verde added to the center of the university’s Main Campus on the Northwest Side. The southeast gateway to the campus also would get a mixed-use district incorporating the yet-to-be-built Roadrunner Village, which includes housing, and the Tricentennial Innovation Park, a “public-private tech venture.”

An improved loop road would ease vehicular traffic. The plan also calls for better use of the Park West campus for sports and recreation.

“In total, the plan calls for adding nearly 5.3 million gross square feet of new space to accommodate the growth in campus population and the university’s projected academic and research priorities,” Provost Kimberly Andrews Espy wrote in a letter to faculty and staff this week.

“These new buildings and features would be constructed over many years to come, as funding and resources allow.”

The design firm Page consulted on the plan, which was developed after a yearlong planning process involving thousands of UTSA staff, faculty, students, alumni and community members, who gave advice on its guiding principles and designs through “individual interviews, targeted focus groups and committee meetings, on- and off-campus forums, and a comprehensive online survey,” Espy’s summary said.

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Espy said the plan reflects the university’s commitments as an urban institution, including welcoming the community, increasing open space and promoting cultural heritage and art.

Alia Malik covers some school districts and the University of Texas at San Antonio in the Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN