Stockton University to Enhance Quad Project
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Stockton University in Galloway Township is undergoing a major construction project that will redefine the school’s main entrance and provide a gathering place for students.
The Quad construction project will allow Stockton University to expand curricula and meet the needs of a growing student population. It is part of a campus master plan that determined the growing college needed an additional 300,000 square feet of academic and housing space, reported Press of Atlantic City. Enrollment has grown in the past decade from roughly 7,000 to more than 8,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Currently, only 400 of the campus’ original 1,600 acres are deemed buildable under Pinelands regulations. The school purchased more land, including about 280 acres bordering Pomona Road, to accommodate the growth.
“The main goal of the Quad construction project is to provide state-of-the-art facilities tailored to specific curriculum needs in accordance with Stockton’s 2010 Campus Master Plan,” said Charles West, AIA, director, facilities planning and construction for the university.
Construction will begin in November on two new buildings that will help anchor a Quad design that began in 2011 with the construction of the Campus Center. The expansion will include a $28.62 million Unified Science Center and an $18 million academic building located near the existing Unified Science Center and Campus Center. In the center of the Quad will be a large, green space for students to gather.
The 58,210-square-foot Unified Science Center will be an expansion to the existing 64,000-square-foot facility. The three-story building will house teaching and research labs for various disciplines in the sciences, a vivarium, a large green house, a multipurpose room and faculty offices. The 37,720-square-foot academic building will include space for the university’s sustainability program, classrooms, faculty offices and collaboration areas with tables and chairs.
“The design of the Quad construction project includes a significant number of LEED principles,” West said. “Specific areas of concentration focused on water reduction, lighting and daylighting as well as enhanced acoustical prevention. The design of the buildings and quadrangle also incorporates many areas for student and faculty collaboration outside of the classroom where ideas can be shared at any time during the day.”
The new project’s design is based on a 10-month program with faculty and staff that identified the needs of the end users. In addition, schematic perspectives of the quadrangle were located around the campus for anyone wishing to comment on the development.
Most of the challenges associated with the Quad construction project will center on parking and vehicular circulation around the campus both during construction and after, West predicted. “All of the issues have been identified and plans are underway for additional parking areas and upgraded signage throughout the campus,” he said.
Funding from the Building Our Future Bond Act, which was approved by New Jersey voters in 2012, will support the new buildings. The bond act will provide $21.465 million in funding for the Unified Science Center, and the university will pay 25 percent or $7.15 million. The academic building will receive $13.5 million in funding from the bond issue, and the university will pay 25 percent or $4.5 million.
Construction for both buildings is expected to begin in November 2015 and be completed in June 2017, with a scheduled opening in fall 2017.