COLLEGE TO BREAK GROUND

ON NEW RESIDENCE HALL

(Worcester, MA – April 17, 2003) Worcester State College (WSC), in conjunction with the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA), will break ground on a new 348-bed residence hall, at 10 a.m., Friday, May 9, 2003 on the upper campus. The residence hall is designed by ADD Inc of Cambridge and constructed by Suffolk Construction of Boston.

Located in front of Chandler Village and Dowden Hall, the new residence hall will serve as a focal point for residential life on WSC’s upper campus. The six-story structure will provide a spectacular view of the campus below. The three residential halls will be linked by walking paths and fundamental changes to the landscaping of the upper campus. The new building will be positioned in such a way that excess light, noise and wind from the college will be greatly abated for residents on the perimeter of the campus.

“Working with our neighbors and receiving their input helped us to create an outstanding building project,” said President Janelle C. Ashley. “Students today expect a certain quality of life from on-campus residency, and we are pleased that we will have this beautiful new hall to offer them. It also fills a great need for on-campus housing at Worcester State College.”

According to the design by ADD Inc, the common space of the new residence hall will include a multi-purpose room, student lounge, a central mailroom, Residential Life Office, Campus Police Office, and coffee shop. One wing of the first floor is open to the college community allowing outside access to the Campus Police Office.

“This new residence hall with improve the ability of students at Worcester State College to meet their academic goals, which we definitely support,” said Tamara Davis, Chairman of the Massachusetts State College Building Authority. As part of the planning process for the new residence hall, renovations are also anticipated for the College’s existing housing facilities at Chandler Village and Dowden Hall to help ensure quality housing for al residents at the College.”

In addition, two administrative offices currently located in Chandler Village and Dowden Hall will be moved to the new residence hall. Chandler Village is also scheduled to be renovated, reconfigured and “dedensified,” and new student space will be created in the vacated space in Dowden Hall. The reconfiguration of Chandler will reduce the number of students by creating one and two person bedrooms to replace the three and four person rooms. When the new residential hall project is completed, there will be nearly 1,000 students living on campus and their home will be greatly enhanced by a thoughtful, well-designed plan.

“Our students have been looking forward to this new building for some time. There is no doubt that it will provide more opportunities for community-living,” said Dr. Sibyl Brownlee, Dean of Student Development and the chief campus liaison with MSCBA.

MSCBA services and contributes to the missions of the nine State Colleges and possesses statutory authority to sell revenue bonds, manage design and construction of student activity, primarily residential, buildings on these campuses. The estimated cost for the new residential hall is $32 million. This includes the construction financing for the reconfiguration of Chandler Village. This building project is financed through bonds and residence fees, and is not dependent on state allocations. The College anticipates full occupancy by fall, 2004.

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