New York’s Pace University Breaks Ground on $150 Million Satellite Campus Revitalization

by Katie Sloan

Hudson, N.Y. — Construction plans call for two new residence halls.

EYP Architecture
and Engineering is designing
the halls.
Hudson, N.Y. —
Pace University has broken ground on a $150 million revitalization of the school’s Pleasantville campus. The first phase of the project, “Phase 1A,” is valued at approximately $100 million and includes the construction of two new residential buildings, an expansion of the student center and the relocation of the environmental center and athletic facilities from the Briarcliff campus.

The Pleasantville campus, which totals 200 acres, opened in 1963. The 37-acre Briarcliff campus is currently for sale. Pace’s main campus is in New York City.

“As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of our Pleasantville campus this year, we now prepare for the next half-century with a major transformation,” says Stephen Friedman, president of the university. “This project, together with new academic programs and related enhancements, represents a significant investment in and commitment to the future.”

While no classes are currently taught at the Briarcliff campus, approximately 590 students reside there, necessitating the construction of more housing on the Pleasantville campus as Pace looks to consolidate. Athletic and certain administrative functions are also currently based at Briarcliff and will need facilities on the Pleasantville campus as well.

The university has stated that the construction will have minimal impact on the 115 wooded acres that wrap around the north, east and southeast of the Pleasantville campus. Plans also call for more open green spaces, improvements to pedestrian accessibility and LEED certification for the new residence halls and environmental center.

Pace officials expect completion of all phases of the project in the next five to eight years, and the closure of the Briarcliff campus by 2016. Completion of Phase 1A, which will increase the Pleasantville campus’ total student bed count by more than 700 to a total of 1,400, is slated for the next two-and-a-half to three years.

“Today marks an important milestone in implementing a vision that will completely transform this campus into a suburban residential campus that will elevate our academic mission and distinctive identity,” said William McGrath, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Pace, at the Oct. 23 groundbreaking ceremony. “Today marks the beginning of a new journey for us — the next generation of the Pace community.”

The development team includes Brailsford & Dunlavey as project manager, EYP Architecture and Engineering as architect/engineer, Divney Tung Schwalbe as civil engineer/landscape architect and Kirchhoff-Consigli Construction Management as construction manager.

Pace University, founded in 1906, is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. The school has a total student body of approximately 14,177 and an endowment of nearly $125 million.

— John McCurdy

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