PLYMOUTH – A ceremony for the new Langdon Woods residence hall took place in the shadow of the partially completed steel frame of the building on Thursday, October 6th at 1pm.
President Wharton gave his opening remarks surrounded by cranes in the construction zone. Wharton reminisced about when Langdon Woods was no more than ideas and plans drawn with tape on the floor of the HUB multipurpose room. Wharton seemed pleased with the progress by saying, “We don’t break ground until we see the steel coming up.”
He continued to say that he is looking forward to the ribbon cutting of the new building which is anticipated to take place in Fall 2006 when the building is scheduled to be open for occupancy.
Stephen Reno, the Chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire(USNH), also spoke at the ceremony. He cited the continual advancement and expansion of Plymouth State University (PSU) as a sign of improvement. Reno states, “The project really does represent a commitment to the future of this institution and a commitment of the future of our state…this is thoughtful investment in the future.”
Andrew Lietz, Chair-board of Trustees of USNH feels that, Langdon Woods is a major step towards fulfilling the university’s goal of having 60% of the student population living on campus. Lietz also commented on the new parking lot associated with the project that should ease the parking problem for the PSU community.
Jeremy Foskitt, Student Body President, followed with sentimental predictions about all the college experiences that will happen at Langdon Woods and its addition to the PSU community. He also thanked Frank Cocchiarella and Gail Stone of Residential Life for their participation in the project.
The Langdon Woods project is especially interesting due to the fact that much of the building is environmentally friendly. The site is a 9-acre wooded area, with a stream and small pond. It is adjacent to Langdon Park and is designed to be harmonious with it’s natural surroundings.
Peter Hourihan, the Chief Architect from Cannon Design, commented on how the building is contending for Leadership, Energy, and Environmental Design Status (LEEDS) silver certification from the US Green Building Council.
According to Hourihan all of the materials for this project will be coming from within a 500 mile radius making it a positive for many local industries. The last to comment on the project was Thomas Clavelle, Vice-president of Engelberth Construction, Inc. Engelberth was involved with two other PSU projects including the renovations of Lamson Library and Boyd Hall. Clavelle anticipates that “Langdon Woods will define the landscape of Plymouth State University for many years to come.”
Clavelle gave a “Hats off to the planning team,” saying “They are responsive, creative, and time driven. We couldn’t succeed without this level of cooperation and insight.
The Langdon Woods Residence Complex project is a $24.8 million project and is scheduled to be completed in fall of 2006.
The building will be a five-stories, comprised of two wings: a sophomore wing with 218 beds set up in hotel doubles and singles, and a junior/senior wing with 129 beds set up as four bedroom suites and hotel singles. Common areas will include: kitchens, a lobby, lounges, fitness rooms, laundry rooms, Residential Life offices, bicycle storage, coffee/food service with seating area, computer clusters, and study areas.
The Langdon Woods project also opens up 350 more parking spaces for students to keep their vehicles. These new parking spaces should make life easier for many PSU students, especially upper classmen who had to take restricted permits this year because of the parking shortage on campus.
Sgt. Clarke of the University Police Department said that, “The sales of additional [Residential North] permits have been going well.” On Tuesday morning, the first day the new permits went on sale, there was a line out to the street.
Despite this rush on permits, Clarke also says there are still permits for sale. Some students have wondered why a campus wide e-mail wasn’t sent regarding the sales of the new passes, Clarke simply thought that it was because one was already sent out earlier in the year. Regardless, both student body and members of the PSUPD think that the new lots will alleviate parking problems experienced by anyone who commonly drives to campus.