Students have praised their new
home as “insane” and “ridiculous.”
Parents and city leaders who have
toured the building say they want to go back to college.
And last week, the Chamber of
Schenectady County chimed in on the newly renovated College Park Hall by
presenting the College with the Outstanding Appearance Award.
The College was cited at the
Chamber's 16th annual Business Awards Dinner on Oct. 14 for the redevelopment
of the former Ramada Inn and the environmental cleanup of the former American
Locomotive site on lower Nott Street.
Union President Roger Hull has led
a number of tours through the building, including one on Oct. 4 with local
government and business leaders. He thanked contractors and their employees at
a reception on Oct. 11, acknowledging their fast work in one of Union's
largest construction projects.
Hull
has acknowledged the contributions of Diane Blake, vice president for finance;
Loren Rucinski, director of facilities; Fred Puliafico, assistant director; and
Paul Matarazzo, capital projects administrator. Blake accepted the Chamber
award on behalf of the College.
MLB Industries was the general contractor.
Architects were Jim McKinney and Geoff MacDonald of Sacco McKinney Architects.
The seven-floor building, with
stylish furnishings and matching paint and carpet schemes, was fully renovated
at a cost of $15 million.
Among the renovations were the
replacement and reconstruction of the roof, repairing and repainting the
building's exterior, new heating and air conditioning, increased fire
protection, a security camera system, and a new entry. The building also houses
the College's Campus Safety Office.
Some of the views from the
building are stunning, to the northwest a sweeping vista down the Mohawk
Valley, to the southeast a look at
campus and the Nott Memorial. But most of the raves from students are about two
things: climate control in each room and a bathroom in every room, 110 singles
and 60 doubles.
The conversion to athletic fields
of the former American Locomotive property south of College Park Hall was made
possible by a federal grant to support environmental remediation of the site,
removing some petroleum residue and replacing it with 18 inches of new soil on
which the field was built.
The project brings Union's
investment in the College Park
neighborhood west of campus to $26 million. In 1998, Union
launched the Union-Schenectady Initiative, a redevelopment project that
featured renovated student apartments and incentives to promote home ownership.