POCATELLO — Idaho State University could look a lot different in the next 10 years as school leaders’ ambitious vision for its campuses continues to gradually become reality.

When it comes to renovations, there is no shortage of projects at the century-old institution — from a multimillion-dollar remodel at Holt Arena and an $11.5 million alumni center project in the arena’s backyard to $5 million in upgrades to outdated on-campus student housing.

Now, to add to the growing list of projects, ISU’s sights are set on undertaking a $3 million major remodel of the first floor of its library.

The university sought approval from the Idaho State Board of Education to proceed with planning and design for upgrades to the Eli M. Oboler Library during a meeting on Thursday. The board voted unanimously to approve the college’s request following a brief explanation of the project by Dani Dunstan, chief of staff for ISU’s Office of the President.

The remodel will only touch the library’s first floor, but it will be a comprehensive renovation, complete with new furniture, layout design and the installation of a full-service Starbucks coffee shop — an upgrade from the existing campus kiosks that simply “proudly serve” Starbucks coffee.

The project’s goal is to redefine the first floor space with a new entryway, common area and lighting and to fill the space with more student-focused furniture to support collaboration and create a more inviting environment.

ISU is prepared to spend just under $3 million on the renovation, with $1.7 million of that coming from a gift earmarked for library upgrades; $760,000 from ISU’s reserve fund balances; and $500,000 from Chartwells, ISU’s food service provider, for the addition of a Starbucks coffee shop.

In an interview prior to the board meeting on Thursday, ISU President Kevin Satterlee said he was optimistic that the board would be “inclined to see the vision” the university has for its library and offer its approval for the project.

He was right, as all of the school board members who were present during Thursday’s virtual meeting voted to approve the request without issue.

Gone are the days, Satterlee said, when students walk into their college library and see rows and rows of books on old wooden shelves. While the library will still have all the books students need, he said, their storage will be reimagined so that they’re no longer the library entryway’s focal point.

The first floor library renovation is a start to upgrading the campus facility, but Satterlee said it is not the end, and the remaining floors of the library might eventually be updated to match the soon-to-be modernized first floor.

With the library remodel state-approved and moving into the planning and design phase, ISU’s projects now total well over $20 million being invested in the school in just the past several months. Though the total excludes the Holt Arena upgrade, as ISU hasn’t finalized its cost, according to a spokesman. Idaho Central Credit Union is fully funding the multi-million-dollar project.

Holt Arena will have a new turf field, new seating, elevators, improvements to the entryways and the addition of donor hospitality suites, club space and premium seating. ISU anticipates the project will be finished by August 2023, according to an ISU news release announcing the renovations.

Just north of Holt Arena, ISU has already broken ground on an ICCU Bengal Alumni Center, which will be a meeting place and events center for alumni, students and friends of ISU, and will be home to the ISU Sports Hall of Fame. The alumni center project is expected to be complete in spring of 2023.

The university is also dreaming up a basketball stadium, for which plans haven’t yet been sorted out but that school officials are hoping will come as part of a potential phase two of the Holt Arena remodel.

Other projects in the works at ISU’s Pocatello campus include the remodeling of on-campus dorms and student housing. ISU is investing $5 million into modernizing its housing with updated lighting, furniture, flooring, air conditioning, amenities and room layouts — a project Satterlee called a “much-needed facelift” for on-campus accommodations.

Most of ISU’s housing was built in the 1960s. The most recent housing project at the university was Rendezvous Hall, which opened in 2007.

Aside from necessary updates to the library, recreational and housing facilities, the university is also planning to construct a new health sciences building on campus. The building will house all of the patient care programs, such as the physician assistant, physical therapy and nursing programs, to make for more collaborative clinical training among the different fields.

Satterlee said ISU hasn’t yet decided where that building will be or when the university will start planning the project but that it is on ISU’s to-do list.

All of these projects are part of Satterlee’s plan to reinvent ISU for the better.

“I want this university to be the best version of itself, and you can’t be the best version of yourself if you don’t invest in yourself,” he said. “You have to take that pride and be willing to say, ‘I will invest in myself and I will move myself to a better place,’ and that’s what we’re doing.”