ASU, O'Connor break ground on law school

Sandra Day O'Connor had the chance Thursday to size up the future site in downtown Phoenix of the law school that was named in her honor.

The former U.S. Supreme Court justice posed for pictures and turned a symbolic shovelful of dirt as Arizona State University held an official groundbreaking for the building that will house the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Construction on the $129 million, six-story Arizona Center for Law and Society actually began in July at Second and Taylor streets.

The 280,000-square-foot building is expected to be finished in time for classes in August 2016.

For now, the law school is on the Tempe campus, with employees in several buildings.

In September, a prominent local attorney and his wife donated $10 million to help build the new law school. Leo and Annette Beus' gift is the largest single donation ever made to the school. A total of $34 million has been raised.

ASU is funding the bulk of the $129 million law-school project through construction bonds. The rest will come from private donations and the city of Phoenix, which is providing land and $12 million.

The building's exterior will be Arizona sandstone and glass, with the law school occupying about two-thirds of the space. Two think tanks, the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics and the McCain Institute for International Leadership, will be housed in the building. The ASU Alumni Law Group, the first teaching law firm associated with a law school, also will occupy space.