Architect's vision comes to life in New Rochelle.

The master plan created by the firm of Susan Doban Architect, PC, for Monroe College on Main Street in New Rochelle, NY, is coming to life with the opening of the college's new administration and classroom building, Milavec Hall, and the recent approval from city officials to build a six-story dormitory adjacent to it.

Susan Doban, principal of Susan Doban Architect. PC, and her firm transformed an abandoned commercial property into Milavec Hall, a 22,000 s/f building that opened in September, 2003, at Monroe College's campus on Main Street in downtown New Rochelle.

For the $2.8 million gut renovation project, Doban designed classrooms, offices, and a new facade for the building, which will serve as the gateway to the college's east campus and further extend the college's presence along Main Street.

"The Milavec Hall project was rewarding because it enabled us to build on our strengths--designing constructive solutions for educational facilities, and revitalizing commercial strips by restoring facades and creating commercial spaces," Doban said. "In this case we created an office space for the college that will also invigorate a downtown area.

"One of the architectural challenges of the Milavec Hall project was to bring light and a sense of openness into the building, which is quite open along Main Street but would be naturally dark because the rear of the building is built into a hill," Doban said.

"Our solution was to create a central, sky lit space to bring in natural light and create a focal point for the building. Interior windows also let natural light penetrate from one classroom into another so that even some interior classrooms have views to the exterior.

We also introduced interesting colors and patterns throughout so that even spaces removed from natural light are inviting and playful. At the same time, we used finer materials at key locations, such as granite and limestone columns for the facade and custom light fixtures, to communicate the importance of the building as the centerpiece of an educational institution."

For the next phase of the campus development, Doban designed a six-story, 45,000 s/f, 200-student dormitory adjacent to Milavec Hall on which construction has begun. The dormitory site plan was approved unanimously by the New Rochelle Planning Board in September. Both projects are part of the master plan that Doban helped create for Monroe College's newly acquired 1.5 acre site in downtown New Rochelle. Monroe College's main campus is in the Bronx.

"The new dormitory--New Rochelle Hall--takes the place of a parking lot that sat vacant for several years, and which has been an abrupt physical termination to the potential flow of commercial activity eastward along Main Street," Doban said.

"Upon completion of the dorm, the city will experience storefronts with an open feel and a sense of vitality along this 144-foot long key frontage, instead of the blank wall that stands there today. The centerpiece of the dormitory design is a glass-clad tower that will serve not only as a lounge for the students on the five upper floors, but will be illuminated from within, serving as an appropriate termination point, even a beacon, of the revitalized Main Street."

The dormitory will include a computer room, exercise facility, common spaces and a parking lot.

"Susan has responded magnificently to the goals for our buildings and through her design is creating architectural assets for Monroe College and the community," said Marc Jerome, vp, Monroe College.