Posted on Sep 1, 2003

The entrance to the new student residence.

The College has purchased
the former Ramada Inn at 450 Nott Street, which, after its renovation, will be used as
residence space for 230 upperclass students. Two adjacent parcels of land will become soccer fields for use by the
College and the community.

The project was announced
by President Hull at a news conference at the opening of the fall term.

The College will spend $15
million on the project, bringing Union's total investment
in the neighborhood west of campus to $26 million.

“The acquisition of the Ramada Inn and the adjoining land is a key element in our commitment to our students and our continued support and investment in Schenectady,” the president said. “It addresses the needs of the College and at the same time contributes to the revitalization of Schenectady. The future of Schenectady and Union College are inextricably linked, and I feel this project enhances both the city and the College.”

The project comes as the
College is embarking on major changes in its social and residential system for students. A new House System, designed to better integrate social,
residential and intellectual life on campus, is underway; just three days before the announcement about the former Ramada Inn, more than forty students moved into South College,
the first element in the new House System.

In a letter to alumni, the president referred to a continuing transformation of campus social and residential opportunities. “Integral to the comprehensive strategic plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2001 is a commitment to seek improvements in the character and quality of campus life for today's students and for those who will follow them,” the president said.

An interior view of the new student residence.

This latest project will further expand the variety of residential life experiences Union offers its students at a time when more students want to live in college-owned housing. A decade ago, about seventy-five percent of the College's students lived on campus; the addition of the former Ramada Inn will bring that figure to more than ninety percent, and students will be able to choose among several residential options, including traditional residence halls, apartment-style housing on Seward Place, theme houses, and fraternities and sororities.

The College plans to sell $15 million in bonds through the Schenectady Industrial Development Authority, and the president emphasized that the project will be self-funded through student room charges.

The College invited five firms to submit designs and budgets for the project, with a completion date for the renovation of fall of 2004. Plans call for the creation of 110 single rooms and 60 doubles, to house a total of 230 students. The Office of Residential Life will staff each floor with one student/staff mentor, and there will be an area coordinator to oversee the entire building. The construction of a lighted and security-patrolled walkway from Huron Street, adjacent to the main campus, to the new residence hall is also planned.

Among the building renovations will be replacement and reconstruction of the roof, repairing and repainting the exterior, installation of new and updated heat and air conditioning systems, increased fire protection, construction of a new entryway, creation of study areas and meeting rooms, creation of a fitness center after filling in the
swimming pool, and general interior renovations such as painting, new carpeting, and new window treatments.
The athletic field complex will bring the College and community together on what used to be vacant industrial land.

Plans call for the construction of artificial turf soccer fields for use by College teams. When College is not in session, the fields will be available for community use. A $450,000 federal appropriation obtained by New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and Congressman Michael McNulty will help fund part of the playing fields project.

President Hull reviewing plans for the new student residence.

The Ramada project and the changes made as part of the Union-Schenectady Initiative (USI) will bring the campus's total area to about 115 acres, up from the century-old total of 100 acres. The president noted that the enrollment and complexity of the College have changed dramatically over that time; in addition to expanding to its present enrollment of more than 2,000 undergraduates, the College has added a number of buildings (e.g., the F.W. Olin Center) and significantly expanded its academic offerings and extracurricular program, including athletics. This academic, residential, and extracurricular enhancement has made it necessary to look at a physical expansion of the historic campus.

USI, a broad-based plan to revitalize and stimulate home ownership in the College Park neighborhood, was introduced in 1998, and, to date, the College has invested about $11 million in that project. In addition to buying houses and renovating them to become apartment-style housing for more than 100 students, the College converted a former bar and restaurant into the Ralph and Marjorie Kenney Community Center, now the headquarters for community involvement programs (more than 600 Union students take part in some form of community volunteer work each year).

Tom McEvoy, dean of residential and campus life, says the addition of the Ramada will complement the House System. “The key to the House System will be drawing students from their residences to their houses, since only about 175 students will actually live in houses,”
he says. “The former Ramada will not be much different from the other residence halls on campus, in which most of the student body lives. Students in the former Ramada will have a house assignment, and we hope that they also will choose their houses as 'hang out' space.”

The Ramada property, once the site of the American Locomotive Company, will require environmental remediation. The parcel contains some residual levels of aged petroleum products that were used in the manufacturing of locomotives, tanks, and other vehicles. The president noted that the College has worked closely with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Comptroller's Office to ensure that all procedures for remediation have been followed. “We hope that this project is a model for the effective use of brownfields and that it will be replicated elsewhere in this city and state,” he said.

Planning your visit

We realize that the closing of the Ramada Inn will affect some of you and your plans for ReUnion, Homecoming, Commencement, and other major Union events.

The Visitor's Center on the Union College web site has information about lodging in the Capital Region; the address is www.union.edu/Visitor_Center/lodging.php.

Other web sites that may help you plan your visit include: