Fordham University will break ground on two new seven-story residence halls on April 24. The buildings, each with two towers joined at the base, will be located on the southwest corner of the Rose Hill campus, in a location currently occupied by a parking lot. The southernmost residence (closest to the Walsh Family Library) will be known as Campbell Hall, named in recognition of Robert E. Campbell, CBA ’55, and Joan M. Campbell, whose December gift of $10 million to Fordham is among the largest in the University’s history.
The buildings will encompass 166,000 square feet (Campbell Hall will be the slightly larger of the two at 90,000 square feet), and accommodate 460 students when they open in June 2010. Marc Valera, associate vice president for facilities, said the buildings, which were designed by Sasaki Associates, Inc., will be constructed using energy efficient lighting and construction materials, and will be certified by the LEED green building rating system. Discussions are under way to possibly include rainwater reclamation centers on the rooftops for use in irrigation and for mechanical systems. The living spaces will be split into four- and six-person suites, half equipped with single bedrooms and half with double bedrooms.
Valera said the aim is to combine the best aspects of dormitory style living with those of apartment life. That means building lounges on every floor that receive natural light from both the east and west and the landscaping that will accentuate the green space currently surrounding Martyr’s Court and the Walsh Family Library.
Michele Burris, associate vice president for student affairs, said the buildings, which will be the Rose Hill campus’s first new residence halls since O’Hare Hall opened in 2000, will be configured specifically with juniors and seniors in mind, with individual kitchens within every unit.
“We administered a survey last spring with our housing community, and the most common request from our students was apartments with single bedrooms,” Burris said. “Juniors and seniors enjoy living with their friends, but they also like to have their own space. We have singles on the Rose Hill campus but none of the singles are located within apartments.”
Burris also noted that the buildings will have an integrated learning community seminar room that professors will be able to use to teach classes.
“We’re still two years out, but we’ll be working very closely with academic affairs and campus ministry, to come up with an integrated learning community concept that meets the needs of our upperclassman,” Burris said.
To accommodate the construction, the guard booth at the Third Ave./Webster Ave. gate will be temporarily located further east on Fordham Road, closer to the Walsh Family Library, and the current entrance will be used as a construction entrance.
