FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Friday, July 1, 2005

SUNY Purchase’s 314-Bed Residence Hall Breaks Ground

PURCHASE – The State University College at Purchase broke ground today on a new student residence hall with a difference – a bookstore, restaurant, and student-oriented small retail shops will be incorporated into the design. The Dormitory Authority is providing financing, design and construction project management services for the new dorm, which will be the first at SUNY Purchase to incorporate these amenities.

“We are pleased to provide students with this new state-of-the-art building and the services it will offer,” said Thomas J. Schwarz, SUNY Purchase President. “We will now be able to accommodate 2,400 of our 4,000 students in dormitories and apartments on the campus and provide a more student-centered environment within our residential buildings.” The building is scheduled to open for the fall 2006 semester.

The retail space will be on the ground floor of the U-shaped building, along with the main lobby, a large common room for events, mailboxes and laundry. A courtyard in the center of the building wings will offer an outdoor gathering space. The building will create a new gateway to the campus from Lincoln Avenue.

The building has been wired for air-conditioning, computers and data lines throughout. On the upper three floors, the rooms are primarily doubles with private baths, arranged into four distinct student neighborhoods on each floor. There are also two apartments for faculty or staff and nine rooms for residence directors.

“The U shape of the building,” explained Doug Hyde of the architectural firm Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, “is intended to foster a sense of community within the residence facility.” The central court nestled within creates a sense of place and security. Built on the largest open space on campus, “the building is designed as a transition between the architecture of the campus and that of the more rural farmstead,” said Mr. Hyde. “The red brick of the north wing relates to farmstead, the white brick of the south wing relates to the buildings on the campus.”

Among the building’s features is a pitched shingled roof and single-hung aluminum windows. There are two entrances, two elevators and three staircases. The interior décor includes off-white walls with gray vinyl floor tiles. A distinct color will be chosen to accent the wall trim on each floor. A limited number of short-term and handicapped parking spaces are located at the entrance.

In addition to President Schwarz, the SUNY Purchase team includes Provost Elizabeth Langland; Vice President of External Affairs and Development Margaret Sullivan; Chief Financial Officer Judith Nolan; Chief Operating Officer and Chief of University Police Joe Olenik; Vice President of Student Affairs Ron Herron; John Delate, Director of Residence Life; Christopher Gavlick, Director of Capital Planning; and Charles Wellcome, Capital Projects Manager.

Statewide Facilities Director Pat Cinelli, Chief Project Manager Tim McGrath, Project Manager Will Sellner and Regional Project Manager Daljeet Sandhu the Dormitory Authority team. In addition to Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, the Authority has selected J. Kokolakis Contracting as the construction manager.

For more information, contact Press Officer Claudia Hutton at (518) 257 3382, or CHutton@dasny.org or www.nyc.gov .