NEW PHASE CRAZE BURKS SEES PROGRESS LEGACY -DEVELOPMENT WORDS Cqyleigh Thomas I I PHOTOS Evan S1vea1ingen Legacy Park Phase IV, a building project that set out to include faculty and alumni the opportunity to live on the west side of campus, began construction in summer 2017. Chancellor David Burks worked hard on the project since the beginning of the planning process, calling faculty and alumni housing a "bridge" between them and the students. "It was always a part of the plan," Burks said. "We wanted to have students, faculty and staff living together. It was part of the plan we created for Legacy some nine years ago." There were 20 homes in Phase IV All of the Lots '>Vere sold by fall 201 7 and were set to take 18 to 24 months to be completed. "Half of the people who bought the Lots planned to build garages with housing above them for college students," Burks said. ''A lot of faculty offer their houses for approved housing and that was why they planned to do build the extra housing." A faculty couple who bought and moved into a house in Legacy Phase IV were David and Paige Kee. Both of the Kees taught at Harding, David as a professor of business and Paige as an adjunct professor of communication. "Since moving to Searcy in 2013, we had been [waiting] for the right house for us," Paige said. "When Harding announced the project and we saw the plans, we knew this was where we wanted to be." One reason the Kee family wanted to be so close to campus was the friendly environment of the Legacy Park neighborhood. "We liked the idea of community, living close to our neighbors and everyone having a front porch [with its] inviting interaction and friendship," Paige said. "lWe] both love Harding so much, and getting to be a part of something as significant as Legacy was something we didn't want to pass up." David was also looking forward to their family's new housing situation. The Kees planned to stay in their Legacy house permanently, as they loved the environment so much. "Some of the things we love is being able to walk to [work] and having students come by for our home Bible study or just to visit," Paige said. "We love getting to know our new neighbors as they move in, having family close by and enjoying a new home we were able to design." In April 2018, Burks announced the plan for more faculty and alumni to move onto campus, which included plans for housing to move to the south side of campus by 2021. Construction of residential housing begins in June 2017 and is part of the initial plans for community growth between students, faculty and staff. Dr. David Burks, chancellor, began this project in 2008 and said he was delighted to see this longstanding vision come to fruition.// Photo by Evan Swearingen Legacy Park Phase IV includes 19 lots that accomodate homes ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 square feet. Many of the homebuyers chose to include an attached apartment space in their design plans to serve as approved housing for students. // Photo by Evan Swearingen IN (f) m z 6 IJ < 0 m -0 :::IJ m ~ 0 m z _---1 0 I )> z 0 m r r 0 :::IJ < 0 m -0 :::IJ m (f) 0 m z ---1 (f) ::::::: ..... <O U"I
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