Construction starts on $44m residence hall.

Construction has begun on the first residence hall to be built on the campus of The City College of New York in its 158-year history.

This milestone was celebrated with a ground-breaking ceremony at the project site.

The 180,000 s/f facility, which will rise on the southeast corner of the campus at St. Nicholas Terrace and West 130th St., will provide accommodations for approximately 600 students and include a limited number of apartments for faculty.

It is scheduled for completion in August 2006, in time for the Fall 2006 semester.

The project is a public-private partnership with funding raised through the capital markets.

The residence hall will consist of 164 apartments; student lounge space, a coffee vendor station, a vending machine area, multipurpose/classroom space, a conference room, a fitness center, a central laundry room and a community kitchen facility. A large protected front lawn and a patio/picnic area overlooking St. Nicholas Park and Harlem will enhance the residential hall's appeal.

The building consists of three sections with heights rising to five, eight and 11 stories. The land is owned by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) and is being leased to Educational Housing Services, Inc. (EHS).

City College has selected Capstone Development Corp. (CDC), a national student residence developer based in Birmingham, Ala., to coordinate the financing and design, construct and manage the facility.

To finance construction, EHS borrowed $69 million of 30-year bonds through DASNY to be repaid through the residence hall's rental income. Once the bonds have been repaid, the facility will be transferred to CUNY.

Turner Construction is general contractor for the project, which has a construction cost of just over $44 million. Goshow Architects, a women-owned firm based in Manhattan serves as architect of record for the project with Design Collective Inc. of Baltimore serving as design consultant to Goshow.