Hillyer College, one of the original trio of schools that created the University of Hartford a half century ago, is proud of its reputation as a reliable source of a two-year liberal arts degree.
But Hillyer is looking forward to shaking its reputation for cramped facilities. Its dated four-story building is a dowdy throwback to 1960s design and a time when Hillyer’s enrollment was a fraction of today’s 650 students.
“We’re bursting at the seams,’’ said Hillyer Dean David Goldenberg, opening the door to a faculty member’s windowless office that is barely the size of a janitor’s closet.
Indeed, much of what passes for offices and meeting rooms for the 40 full-time and 40 part-time roster of faculty and staff has literally been carved out of what once was classroom space. Goldenberg says much of the building, down to the lockers that students deride as giving the building the look of a high school, is unchanged from his student days at Hillyer. He’s Class of 1971.
“It’s not professional and it’s not the image you want to present to the public,’’ Goldenberg said.
But all that’s about to change. Hillyer is ready to embark on an approximately $3 million expansion and renovation of its 67,000-square-foot building, which cost $343,000 (land included) when it was erected on the fledgling University of Hartford campus in 1962. That was five years after three local schools — Hillyer, Hartt School of Music and the Art School of Hartford — were consolidated into one institution.
Last week, the public works subcommittee of the university’s board of visitors was scheduled to meet to whittle bid proposals from architects down to a small group of finalists, Goldenberg said. A finalist is expected to emerge in late January, he added.
Work will move in two phases.
In the first, a two-story, 70,000-square-foot wing, with space for 23 offices for faculty and staff, will be grafted onto the north face of the existing building.
Once that is done, phase two will include refurbishing the original building’s brick-and-concrete exterior. Inside, the auditorium and other spaces will be renovated, and three new “e-classrooms” will be added.
All the work is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010.
“This really takes the college to the next level of professionalism,’’ Goldenberg said.
If Goldenberg has his way, construction would begin right after May graduation ceremonies, which typically take place on the grassy quad next to Hillyer.
“My preference is 12 minutes after commencement,’’ he said. “But I’m not anxious.’’
Meanwhile, Goldenberg continues with the final stages of renovation fundraising. So far, Hillyer has collected $2.3 million toward the renovation, the dean said.
The new office wing will be named the Shaw Center at Hillyer College, for John C. Shaw of Greenwich, a Hillyer alum whose family donated $1.5 million toward the project.
Duct Maker Leases Space
Coastal Mechanical Systems LLC of Centerbrook has leased 6,000 square feet of a 24,000-square-foot building at 35 Industrial Park Road in town.
Coastal will use the space to make and distribute ducting used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, said broker Bill Clark of Geenty Group Realtors, Branford, who represented tenant and landlord Carroll Properties LLC in the lease.
Greg Seay is the Hartford Business Journal Web Editor.
Got real estate news? Deal Watch wants to hear from you. E-mail it, along with contact information to: gseay@HartfordBusiness.com.
