Breaking ground for the new residence hall are, from left, senior
Resident Success Assistants Megan Atkinson and Connor Donnelly,
Bridgeport City Council members AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia and Michelle
Lyons, Chairman of SHU’s Board of Trustees James T. Morley, Fairfield
First Selectman Mike Tetreau, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and SHU
President John J. Petillo.
News Story: October 22, 2014
Sacred Heart University broke ground today
on a new 87,000-square-foot, 216-bed residence hall to be built on the
corner of Jefferson Street and Park Avenue across from the nearly
completed Frank and Marisa Martire Business & Communications Center.
The building has been designed by Centerbrook Architects in
Centerbrook, Conn., and will provide students with all the latest
amenities. It will be organized like a village, with bedroom suite
neighborhoods sharing small lounges. To promote a building-wide
community, students can gather around a bluestone fireplace in a grand
three-story maple-paneled lounge on the first floor. Warm, glowing glass
exterior walls highlight entries, lounges and other community spaces.
Two residential wings spread out from the main entrance to form a
protected grass courtyard, offering students a sunning spot to see and
be seen. On its south side, the courtyard opens to the campus, framed by
two glass entry stair-towers.
The new hall also features a fitness center, conference and
multi-purpose rooms for formal meetings, student government activities
and social events.
“It was important to us to provide a comfortable and homey atmosphere
for the students while also ensuring plenty of communal space for them
to gather, socialize and study. Much of their learning takes place
outside the classroom, so it’s critical to provide spaces for that to
occur,” said SHU President John J. Petillo.
“Our charge from the university was to create a building that would
make students feel safe and protected in a homelike setting while
connecting them with their dorm mates and the surrounding campus,” said
Mark Simon, a partner at Centerbrook Architects.
While its materials make the building inviting for students, they
also echo the University’s recent modern structures. Exterior copper and
iron spot brick are similar to the new academic building across the
street.
“The two new dramatic buildings will create a new face for Sacred
Heart that reflects its international standing in higher education,”
Petillo said.
He said the University is grateful to the Fairfield and Bridgeport
political leaders and community leaders for their support of the new
building. In particular, he thanked Mike Tetreau, first selectman of the
Town of Fairfield; Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch; Tom McCarthy, president
of the Bridgeport City Council; and Michelle Lyons and AmyMarie
Vizzo-Paniccia, North End representatives to the Bridgeport City
Council.
The hall will open in 2016. “This new hall will not only allow us to
offer more on-campus housing to our students where they can interact and
continue classroom discussions, but it fulfills our promise to our
neighbors to build more housing on campus,” Petillo said.
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