With approvals from the planning boards in hand, construction crews have hit each campus to begin building the new residence halls. On the Metropolitan Campus for Professional and International Studies, the construction began this summer with the preparation of the site in the North Parking Lot and the installation of several test pilings. Meanwhile, at the College at Florham, ground was broken last month. Both residence halls are expected to be completed in 2003.

In addition, other major projects include the imminent completion of a new fitness center on the Metropolitan Campus and a major renovation and expansion of the Student Center at the College at Florham including a $1-million renovation of the student dining hall funded by Gourmet Dining. This portion of the Student Center renovation was completed on August 15.

Metropolitan Campus Residence

The addition of a 300-bed residence hall on the campus will go a long way toward fulfilling demand for the already over-utilized residence halls on the campus and provide appealing new accommodations to attract and retain students. The $18.9-million facility will be an 85,000-square-foot, four-story, chevron-shaped structure creating a new quad with a park-like setting. Each roomy unit will have two beds, one bathroom and microwave/refrigerator capability. On each floor there will be a lounge, a laundry room and a vending area.

Metropolitan Campus Residence Hall Rendering

Interim Metropolitan Campus Provost Richard Bronson notes that over the last two years, the demand for housing has exceeded the occupancy level (the campus has 740 beds). To handle the overflow, the campus has been forced to rent hotel beds and has prohibited students who live within 25 miles from residing on campus. The lack of housing also has restricted FDU from recruiting heavily outside the local community.

In addition, the new fitness center in Teaneck, which incorporates the campus's original gymnasium — is nearing completion and is expected to open in October. Not only will the facility host basketball/volleyball courts, weight training rooms and an aerobics and dance studio with mirrored walls, but it will also have a spacious commuter lounge, including computer ports — located conveniently close to the North Parking Lot.

The impact of the residence hall and fitness center will be felt immediately. Bronson says, "Not only will these facilities provide a better environment for our current students, but they will help us attract new students."

College at Florham Residence

Like the Metropolitan Campus, the College at Florham is having difficulty accommodating all the students who want to reside on campus. The 312-bed Park Avenue Residence Hall, opened in 1999, and the other residence halls are filled to capacity this year. At times, the University has had to convert common areas to bedrooms and fill double rooms with triple occupancy. "We couldn't continue to do this without lowering the student quality of life in the residence halls," Interim College at Florham Provost Kenneth Greene says. "If we have additional growth, which we expect, we need to have a new facility."

College at Florham Residence Hall Rendering

The $17.2-million, L-shaped, 85,000-square-foot, four-story building will be located near the Twombly halls. Its red-brick exterior will complement the Georgian-style design of the other campus buildings, and a separate parking lot will be created to accommodate the residents.

Each two-person room in the new residence hall will mirror those of the Metropolitan Campus facility. "The 300 beds added with this residence hall will allow our residential population to continue to grow," Greene says. With the new building, the campus will have the capacity to house more than 1,550 students.

He adds that about 65 percent of full-time students live on campus, and the University wants to increase that percentage.

Besides the residence hall, a major renovation and addition to the Student Center is progressing. Already the dining hall has been completely refurbished and now includes a brick-oven pizza and rotisserie chicken stations among its new multi-station serving facility. The building will be expanded by 14,000 square feet, and a new facade will more closely echo the design of the campus's other Georgian-style buildings. Student organizations will have expanded facilities for activities and the college store will be expanded. Construction will continue in stages to minimize the disturbance to the center's users, with the bulk of the job expected to be complete in spring 2003.

"What we're doing now is a continuation of recent efforts to make our students more comfortable and provide them with many reasons to stay on campus over the weekend," says Greene.
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September
2002

View text only for this complete issue.

Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus for Professional and International Studies, Teaneck, N.J.

Information Deadlines

Deadline dates for information for the remaining issues of Inside FDU on the Web this semester are
October issue — September 24
November issue — October 22
December issue — November 19

Copy received after these days will be included in the following issue. Every effort will be made to deal with late-breaking stories. Send information to: Carol Black, Publications, at H-DH3-14, fax to 201-692-7039 or e-mail to black@fdu.edu.

Inside FDU is published by the Office of Communications and Marketing. Newsletter Staff: Carol Black, editor; Mary Ann Bautista, Angelo Carfagna, Howard Gilman, Joan Harvey, Gretchen Johnson, William Kennedy, Lillian Lukac, Rebecca Maxon, Art Petrosemolo, Eric Range.

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