Initiative Features New Buildings for Biotechnology and Electronic Arts

Troy, N.Y. — A plan for new construction that totals $255 million has been approved by the Board of Trustees of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The plan calls for building a center for biotechnology and interdisciplinary studies, a center for electronic media and performing arts, a parking garage, a boiler plant, a chiller plant, and for related improvements to campus landscaping and infrastructure.

The construction projects, which will be completed over a period of four to five years, and the Institute’s unprecedented investment in faculty (with more than 50 new professors slated to be hired in this year alone) undergird Rensselaer’s intention to be a leader in solving global problems through research, teaching, and technology transfer, said President Shirley Ann Jackson.

“These initiatives, and the support of our alumni, friends, and colleagues in government and industry, further the Institute’s leadership in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, advanced materials, microelectronics, electronic arts, entrepreneurship, and other vital fields,” said Jackson.

“They will certainly advance Rensselaer’s contribution to scientific inquiry, economic development, and cultural enrichment in the Capital Region. Yet far more important, they strengthen our ability to respond to medical, social, and economic needs throughout the nation and around the world,” Jackson said.

“The approval of these extensive construction projects advances Rensselaer’s mission to serve as a world-class leader in technological research and education in the 21st century,” said Samuel F. Heffner Jr. ’56, chairman of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees. “It is a major step toward the realization of The Rensselaer Plan that has been developed and advanced under Dr. Jackson’s visionary leadership.”

The new center for biotechnology and interdisciplinary studies will be built on the west side of Fifteenth Street. Preliminary site work has begun and groundbreaking is scheduled for the coming spring. The facility will be completed within two years.

The center for electronic media and performing arts will be erected on the hill overlooking Eighth Street and adjacent to the Institute’s Folsom Library. Design of the new building will be completed in the spring of next year with groundbreaking slated for the fall.

The parking garage will be built on the south side of campus, along College Avenue. Construction will begin in May and will be completed by July 2003.

Plans for construction of the campus buildings, along with an Environmental Impact Statement as required by the state of New York, have been presented to the Troy City Planning Board and were reviewed in neighborhood discussions and a formal public hearing.

Contact: Bruce Adams
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A