This aerial view of App State’s Appalachian 105 property in Boone, taken Aug. 19, 2025, shows the construction progress underway for the site’s new student housing complex (center of image), as well as construction taking place for the new indoor tennis courts facility — the third phase of development for the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex (bottom of image). Photo by Wes Craig and Chase Reynolds
Appalachian 105 is one of several major projects underway at Appalachian State University to enhance the App State Experience.
The phased project supports App State’s strategic priorities, as well as and the university’s goals and metrics associated with the University of North Carolina System’s strategic plan. The entire campus community will benefit, beginning with students and athletics.
About
Watauga County transferred ownership of the former Watauga High School property, located 1.5 miles from the university’s Boone campus, off Highway 105, to App State on Sept. 29, 2017. The acquisition of this property, now called Appalachian 105, allows the university to make deliberate choices about growth and build an intentional community. The property consists of 75 acres and was appraised at $16.7 million. An AppalCART bus route serves the site, providing access to the Boone campus.
A portion of the property — the 34 acres that comprised the former high school’s track, softball and outdoor tennis courts — is being developed into the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, which includes university-level, competition-grade venues for track, softball and tennis.
Additionally, the university is developing a new student housing complex at the Appalachian 105 site, adjacent to the sports complex. The housing project is designed to meet increasing demand for on-campus housing from sophomores, juniors and seniors, including transfer students, and is slated to include up to 850 student housing beds in apartment-style units, along with additional student support services.
The project is the latest in a series of public-private partnership (P3) housing developments at App State, including:
- the construction of 2,300 beds in four new student residence halls, completed in 2022, which replaced six aging structures; and
- the development of more than 150 faculty and staff housing units at the university’s Innovation District, which will help meet App State employees’ housing needs amid housing scarcity and cost inflation in Boone. The first residents of this new housing community, Innovation Ridge, moved into their residences on Aug. 16, 2025.
App State began exploring development options for the Appalachian 105 site through three interactive listening sessions, held in January 2018, which allowed campus and community members to share ideas for the property’s use. Among the proposed development ideas: campus parking facilities, recreation space for both university and community use, a multipurpose venue for events, university athletics facilities, student and/or faculty and staff housing, an academic facility, outdoor educational space, and child and/or elder care facilities.
View the property on Google Maps
A 180-degree view of the property. Video by Marie Freeman
Status
At its April 2025 meeting, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors authorized the university to enter into ground lease and use agreements to develop the Appalachian 105 student housing complex. App State’s Board of Trustees approved the acquisition by lease on March 14, 2025.
Site preparation for construction of the project began in May 2025, and construction is expected to be completed by fall 2027. Site demolition and erosion control were completed this summer and underground utilities installation is in progress. Additionally, work continues for the site’s retaining walls and workers are installing elevator pits and stair tower foundations for the housing facilities that will be constructed at the site.
Construction is also underway for the third phase of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, which consists of an indoor tennis courts facility, to feature six courts. The project is 35% complete as of August 2025. Construction work for the facility began in spring 2025 and the facility is slated for completion in February 2026.
Workers recently completed underground plumbing for the indoor tennis courts facility, and installation of tie beams is ongoing. Workers are also removing excess dirt from the site. McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, designed the courts, and David E. Looper and Co., located in Hickory, North Carolina, serves as the contractor for the Phase 3 development.
A phased construction of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex began in May 2021, when Barton Malow was awarded the contract to create the new competition track and field and address underground stormwater retention. A final inspection of the track and field competition/practice area took place the week of March 13–17, 2023, and a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the new Randy Marion Track and Field Facility was held April 28, 2023.
Phase 2 of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex includes a team support building featuring locker rooms and public restrooms, the new Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium softball facility, outdoor tennis courts and an access road. App State secured Greene Construction of Boone as the contractor for Phase 2 development, and construction work for the second phase began in June 2023 and concluded in November 2024. An indoor hitting building for the softball facility was constructed in spring 2025.
App State and the Town of Boone have received approval from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to have a traffic light installed at the Appalachian 105 property’s entrance along Highway 105, and the university is working to secure a contractor for the installation. This measure would help ease ingress and egress to the site, as well as assist in improving left turn safety at the intersection of Highway 105 and High School Drive.
In October 2018, the UNC Board of Governors approved App State’s requests to designate the Appalachian 105 property as having millennial campus status and to move forward with the conceptual design process. The project was designed by CHA Consulting Inc., of Raleigh.
This artist’s rendering provides a view of the Appalachian 105 student housing project from the adjacent Appalachian 105 Sports Complex. The complex includes the Randy Marion Track and Field Facility, the new Sywassink/Lloyd Family Softball Stadium, a team support building and outdoor tennis courts, as well as an indoor tennis courts facility that is currently under construction. Graphic courtesy of RISE: A Real Estate Company and Niles Bolton Associates
This artist’s rendering provides an aerial view of the components for the phased development of App State’s Appalachian 105 property, including a team support building, a new softball facility, outdoor tennis courts and an indoor tennis facility. The new track and field competition/practice area, shown in the top left corner of the rendering, was completed in March 2023, and the outdoor tennis courts (top center of rendering), team support building (center left of rendering) and softball facility (bottom right of rendering) were completed in fall 2024. The indoor tennis courts facility (center right of rendering) is under construction and is slated for completion in December 2025. Image courtesy of CHA Consulting Inc.
This artist's rendering provides an interior view of the indoor tennis facility that will be completed as part of Phase 3 construction at Appalachian 105. Note, designs for the facility are still in development. Graphic courtesy of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
An artist's rendering of the indoor tennis facility and adjacent team support building at Appalachian 105. The tennis facility is set to be named in honor of the late Mildred F. Southern, a 1943 alumna of App State, when it was known as Appalachian State Teachers College. Southern took up tennis as a recreational player at App State and was inducted into the Southern Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1992. Note, designs for the indoor tennis facility are still in development. Graphic courtesy of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
How is it funded?
To date, the App State Board of Trustees and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors have authorized nearly $15.8 million in funding for Phases 1 and 2 of the Appalachian 105 project. This funding is supported by private donations and gifts made to the university, including those made as part of App State Athletics’ A Mountaineer Impact: A Drive for Excellence fundraising initiative, as well as revenue generated through App State Athletics.
At its February 2023 meeting, the Board of Governors granted approval for App State to move forward with the project’s third phase of development — the construction of an indoor tennis courts facility. In September 2023, App State received the board’s authorization to issue special obligation bonds for up to $10 million to fund this development phase, to be repaid via debt service fees and donations and gifts to the university.
The student housing project at Appalachian 105 will be developed through a public-private partnership (P3) that does not rely upon state funds, or any capital from the university.
The P3 is made possible by the property’s millennial campus designation, which gives App State the flexibility to lease properties to private sector partners for development, secure financing for development of properties through bonds, and retain revenues earned by such leases.
Compared with the traditional construction process, public-private partnerships can achieve significant cost savings on large projects due to a streamlined agreement with one developer. The construction of four new residence halls on the west side of campus was estimated to have saved the university at least $70 million.
Who will benefit?
The entire campus community eventually will benefit from this project. Since the property is being developed in phases, the first groups to benefit will be students and athletics. Upper-division App State students, including transfer students, will benefit from the student housing project.
How does it support App State strategic priorities?
The Appalachian 105 project aligns with App State’s 2022–27 strategic priority of cultivating a university community focused on advancing student success, through providing both support and campus resources. Housing is critical in the recruitment, retention and persistence of App State’s students and their overall success at the university.
How does it support UNC System Goals and Metrics?
An enhanced campus designed with students, faculty, staff and the public in mind supports recruitment and retention of all members of the university and local communities.
- Campus Construction Projects
- State Funding Support
- Master Plan
- Glossary
- Parking and Transportation Messages
Major current projects:
Major completed projects:
- Wey Hall Renovation
- Holmes Drive Parking Deck
- Dining Facilities Renovations — Central Dining Hall and Trivette Hall
- University Bookstore Renovation
- Residence Halls
- Child Development Center Expansion
- Kidd Brewer Stadium — North End Zone
- Career Development Center relocation
- Sanford Hall Renovation
- Blue Ridge Way
- NPHC Plots and Garden
- Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences
- Founders Plaza
An aerial view of areas receiving millennial campus designation at Appalachian State University. Video by Marie Freeman