Senior Suites
The Senior Suites, the 60,400 square foot new four-story residence hall, was constructed by Fontaine Brothers, Inc., a local general contractor, in 2003. Construction of the $10 million building was part of an on-going project of facilities improvement, and this was the first new residence hall built since the construction of the Townhouses fourteen years previously. The college financed the construction through the issuance of tax-exempt revenue bonds. Advest was the college’s bound counsel and Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority was the bond issuer.
The suites are senior suite-style living located right across the green from the Townhouses and are still in use today. They were designed to accommodate the College’s increasing enrollment and to make it possible for more seniors to live on campus. The building is the most modern of the residence halls and houses 204 students. It contains a total of 39 four-person suites and eight six-person suites. The suites offer an individual bedroom for each resident measuring 95-100 square feet with telephone, cable television, and Internet connections; a common living room area with cable and various furniture pieces including couches, chairs, and tables; a kitchen containing an oven, microwave, sink with garbage disposal, and refrigerator; a dining area; and a bathroom, shower, and sink. The building is also air-conditioned, has two laundry facilities located on the second and third floors, has a main lounge situated on the fourth floor, and a barbeque deck with a seating area located outside. Combined with the Townhouses, the Senior Suites make up what is known as the “senior village.” The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 30, 2003 at 11am.
During the first year of occupancy in 2004, an amazing 90 percent of seniors chose to live on campus. The hope was that the “senior village” would create a newfound senior unity on campus. When President Flynn first started in 1999, only about 20 percent of seniors lived on campus, which clearly said something about the accommodations and the benefits of living on campus. To further accommodate the large number of seniors now living on campus, a new parking lot was constructed between the new residence hall and the new Admissions Center.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
This collection documents the construction of the Senior Suites. Included in the collection are materials from the planning and implementation of the Groundbreaking Ceremony, the poster and postcards of the announcement of the opening of the building, and some photographs of the exterior of the building.
