Lehigh University engaged S3 Design and Ayers Saint Gross to generate a Master Plan that would create a mixed-use development incorporating athletics, housing, retail, office, and recreational spaces. The concept was to create a healthy, sustainable community that leverages the school’s athletic programs and the rural setting. To complement these core program elements, farming areas, and nature trails encourage engagement with nature and the farm-to-table lifestyle.

The plan leverages the existing Stabler Arena and reorganizes the surrounding fields to serve as a central hub for the mixed-use development. A consolidated and centralized set of twelve multi-purpose fields will enhance student-athlete training and create more opportunities for Lehigh to host sports clinics, camps, and tournaments at all age and skill levels. The fields are supported by convenient parking and small pavilions. Trails and paths will link the fields to each other and the larger Goodman trail system.

Lehigh realized that improvements to Stabler Arena, as the centerpiece of the campus development, were a critical first step as a catalyst to entice private developers to invest in other areas of the Goodman Campus. As a result, Lehigh asked S3 to develop a Feasibility Study that would provide a phased path to repositioning the arena. S3’s solution created a new open building image with an entrance sequence that features more visibility into and out of the facility.