A ten million dollar construction project is underway to build a connector between the two Fairfield Prep school buildings.
The construction, once complete, will link Xavier Hall and Berchmans Hall and should reap benefits for both prep and university students.
“It will afford people the opportunity in cold weather to travel inside,” said Richard Magdon, director of operations at the prep school. “More importantly it will provide areas of space that we were lacking.”
Currently, the prep school does not have its own library, and many of the 900 students enrolled there use Fairfield University’s library instead.
“One of the most important features [in the new addition] will be a technologically enriched academic center, a library of our own,” said Magdon. “Our students will be able to research and study without having to go to the university.”
The new connector building will also have a weight room which will be frequently used, according to Magdon.
Besides the obvious change in the look of one of the first buildings people pass as they come onto campus, the architects and contractors have focused on making the addition aesthetically pleasing in conjunction with the existing buildings. The project should be complete and functioning normally by the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
As for changes that university students might see, Magdon said the new building will cut down on the prep school students’s need to go to the university buildings.
“We don’t want them in areas they shouldn’t be in, disrupting the university,” he said, “It’s a win-win situation. Fairfield University has been good to us over the years, and the kids appreciate it for the most part, but now this will help make prep more autonomous.”
The $10 million price tag comes at no extra cost to the prep students. Instead it will be funded by a Capital Campaign Fund that has been set up, as well as gifts from alumni
“The building itself has no impact on tuition costs,” said Magdon.
Father Charles Allen, S.J., a former principal at the prep school and current assistant to the president at the university, said that 20 years ago, when he was principal, they were only dreaming about something like this addition.
“It’s great to see it now coming to fruition,” he said. “It allows prep students to do more things on their own campus, and it will free up space and time for university students.”
Fairfield University students disagreed on the usefulness of such an expensive project.
“I didn’t even notice the prep school students around much before, I don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference for us, maybe for them,” said Jessica Kurose ’06.
“I think it is a good idea for the prep students to have their own facilities, that way they can feel more independent,” said Andrew Stattel ’05. “I don’t really mind seeing them around on campus though; I’ve never had any problems with them.”
Leave a Reply