California University breaks ground for new dormitories
CALIFORNIA-University official say the first new on-campus residence halls to be built in more than 30 years will put California University of Pennsylvania leaps and bounds above any university in the country and are expected to attract new students to the school. “These will be world-class facilities. There will be none better anywhere,” said Dr. Angelo Armenti Jr., university president, at the Phase III groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at the university.
A large group of people, including university students, faculty and staff and local and state government officials attended the ceremony.
“This project is both important and ambitious. This is a very important event in the university’s history,” Armenti added.
Armenti said there were many times that he believed that Phase III, which will ultimately include five new residence halls that will replace the six existing dormitories that were built between 1951 and 1969, would not come to fruition.
“A lot of people worked very hard for two years and there were many times it looked like all their efforts would result with no housing project, but here we are today,” Armenti said.
“Soon, 700 of our students will receive the very best in student housing, better than any college housing in America.”
When complete, four of the new residence halls will form a new quad with the Natali Student Center in the middle. A fifth residence hall will house the honors program and will be located on Fifth Street, near Manderino Library.
The first phase, which will be complete by fall of 2004, includes the honors residence hall and two other halls, one located on Hickory Street on the site of McCloskey and Johnson halls and the other on Sixth Street, near the Natali Student Center.
The current project calls for the demolition of Johnson and McCloskey halls, which were built in 1951 and 1963, respectively, immediately after the close of the spring semester on May 12.
The three new buildings will accommodate 705 students. The total cost of the Phase III project is estimated at more than $36 million.
Armenti said a Johnson Hall reunion will take place there at 12 p.m. Saturday.
Jesse Hereda, student government president and student trustee and treasurer of SAI and former resident of Johnson Hall, the honors dorm, said he expects the reunion to be well attended and exciting.
“We’ll all be sad to see Johnson (Hall) go. It just seems to fit the campus, but, at the same time, students will be ecstatic to be in the new dorms,” the senior said.
“I know I would have loved to have the new dorms while I was here.”
Andrea Eperthener, a senior who lived in Johnson Hall for three years, said she expects many current and former students to attend the Johnson Hall reunion.
“I expect a lot of people on Saturday, which will be nice to rehash all the craziness we shared there,” she said.
Armenti said that not only will the new dorms please the university’s current students, but it will also help to bring new students to the university.
Students agree.
“This is a good thing for the university. It will bring in more students because things will finally be up to date,” said Elaine Logan, a graduate student, who lived in Clyde Hall for two years.
Students seemed most excited about the new dorms having air conditioning.
Armenti said the new dormitories, which will include air conditioning, will be safer, and provide for more privacy. He said they will also be a beautiful addition to the campus.
The dormitories will be four stories tall, with a wood frame construction and red brick veneer to match the historic and recent building on campus.
In the new dorms, no student will share a bathroom with more than three other residents and many will share with only one other student. A variety of configurations allows students to choose one, two or three roommates or suitemates.
All suites have common living room areas and other comforts. The majority of units have one two-person bedroom with one bath.
There are common kitchens in every residence hall for the students’ convenience. All halls have a computer lab and study lounges with computers on every floor. Every floor offers students access to laundry facilities and casual lounge, in addition to study lounges. All student rooms have Internet connections.
Security phones are available at the front door of all the residences and in compliance with state law, all the new residence halls are fitted with sprinkler systems.
The honors residence hall is designed specifically to work with the honors program to enhance the educational experience of academically talented students.
The first floor of the honors hall has a computer lab, community room and TV room as do all residence halls, but it also boasts a multimedia classroom and computer-equipped classroom.
According to Armenti, the project is possible because of a public-private partnership between the Student Association Incorporated (SAI) and private developers.
This same kind of partnership made Jefferson@California
a reality and made California a model for residence housing in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Under the current arrangement SAI is the owner of the residence halls and the SAI board approved a $37 million bond issue.