Oct. 7, 2016 - Westchester County’s deputy county executive, Kevin Plunkett, on Thursday joined Pace University leaders and students for the latest highlight in the $100 million transformation of its Briarcliff Manor campus -- a ribbon cutting for Elm Hall, a new 96,000 square foot residential building.
The opening of the new building is part of a bold plan to attract more students to the Westchester-based university.
“The county executive is fond of talking about the incredibly talented workforce in Westchester. We call that ‘Westchester Smart,’ and Pace University is a huge part of that,” Plunkett said in his remarks. “We’ve already started gearing up for the 2017 APP BOWL, which has quickly become one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Any time a ribbon is cut in Westchester, that’s growth, that’s moving forward and growing the economy and that’s what Westchester is all about, and Pace is a great Partner in that growth.”
In recent years, Westchester County has partnered with Pace University on a Mobile APP Development Bowl, which attracts students from all over the county and the metropolitan region in a competition to develop mobile apps that improve daily life for Westchester residents. It’s proven to be a great success in its first two years.
In addition to that partnership, Pace University utilized Westchester’s Local Development Corp. to secure $100 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds to help pay for significant campus upgrades that include new dorms, a 9,500-square-foot addition at the Kessel Student Center and a new 14,000-square-foot field house for the athletic campus, among many other upgrades.
Thursday’s ribbon-cutting at Elm Hall marked the official opening of its latest residential hall, which, with the already opened Alumni Hall, adds hundreds more on-campus beds to its campus. In addition to the deputy county executive, the event included President Stephen J. Friedman, JD; Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Adelia Williams, PhD; and Westchester Dean of Students Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, PhD.