GCC to expand college village

Genesee Community College Foundation will expand College Village, Genesee Community College's student residence. The expansion, which will consist of three new buildings and renovation of a fourth, will provide housing for 79 more students, bringing College Village occupancy to about 380. Construction will be complete by late August, according to Norbert J. Fuest, president of Genesee Community College Foundation Housing Services, Inc., the foundation's not-for-profit real estate division. The $4.2 million project will be privately financed, with no expenditure of tax dollars.

The expansion consists of two new two-story residential buildings, a "commons" building, and renovation of the first floor of the existing "B" Building. The residential buildings will be constructed immediately to the south of the existing complex, located on Batavia-Stafford Town Line Road at the east end of the Batavia Campus. Each of the 10,500 square foot buildings will accommodate 32 students in eight apartment-style suites with single bedrooms. This summer, the interior of Building B's first floor will be demolished and four new apartment units housing 15 students will be constructed there. Offices, which house College Village staff members, will be moved to the upper level of a new 3,000 square foot two-story "commons building" located immediately to the east of Building "F." The lower level of the commons building will house a multi-purpose area for social and educational activities, a small student computer lab, and a storage area.

This year, the college had a record enrollment of 6,503 students, and last year the GCC was the 17th fastest-growing mid-sized community college in the nation. The college estimates that more than 650 students need housing each year, and the number is growing. Only 300 can currently live at College Village. The number of international students at GCC also continues to grow, and the college enrolled 130 students from other countries in the Fall 2006 semester - a record number. All international students need housing.

Construction on the three new buildings is expected to begin within the next several weeks. Building B renovations will begin in late May. Buildings will be ready for move-in when students return in late August.

The three new buildings will be constructed on about 4.7 acres of land immediately adjacent to the existing complex. The college's Board of Trustees declared the land as surplus, and the college, Genesee County, and SUNY are in the final stages of transferring the land to the foundation for the project. The parcel can accommodate two more buildings, which the foundation hopes to construct in the future.

January 21, 2007