The vast vacant lot at the corner of Nott Terrace and Liberty Street in downtown Schenectady will soon be the home of Union Graduate College’s new $8 million campus.
College officials said the three-story 24,000-square-foot building should be completed by fall 2009.
The building will house offices of admissions, registration, student services and financial aid. It will also include computer labs, conference space, student meeting rooms and faculty offices.
Construction for the building will include such environmentally friendly green features as a geothermal heating and cooling system, high efficiency lighting and sustainable building materials.
At a groundbreaking ceremony held on Friday, June 13, Interim-President John Huppertz said the college will also plant a new, disease resistant type of American Elm to shade the campus.
Officials said half the funding has already been secured for the project, including a $1 million legislative grant from longtime state Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna. Thomas Hitchcock, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, said the rest of the project will be funded through private contributions.
Union Graduate College offers master’s degrees in management, engineering, education and bioethics.
The graduate college will continue to classroom facilities with nearby Union College. Currently, the graduate college located on Union College’s undergraduate campus in a single building` Lamont House.
Union Graduate College was historically operated by Union College, but became independent in 2003.
Union College President Stephen Ainlay said his school will reuse Lamont house when the graduate college makes its move off-campus. Uses for the building are still undetermined.
For more on this story pick up a Schenectady County print edition of the Spotlight Newspapers.
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