College completes new residence hall

Click here to view our Flickr photo gallery of Bloomfield's new residence hall

^{By: Andrew Mees, Director of College and Athletics Communications                communications@bloomfield.edu}

Bloomfield College will welcome students back to campus this fall with a new state-of-the-art home, located in the heart of Bloomfield Township’s most historic location.

The four-year, private college has finished construction on a new 80,000-square-foot residence hall at the corner of Broad and Franklin Streets in downtown Bloomfield Center, ushering in a period of unprecedented growth for the liberal arts institution.

“This facility offers students both a great living environment and wonderful learning environment,” Bloomfield President Richard Levao said. “Collaborative learning among students will be enhanced and facilitated. I know future generations of students will benefit from all the work that went into making this building a reality.”

Completed in just 14 months, the state-of-the-art structure will offer students a cutting-edge college living experience, complete with various amenities that make the structure one of the most innovative residence halls in New Jersey. Featuring one-bed, four and eight-bed suite-style living areas, the four-story building also boasts a rooftop courtyard, game room, fitness center and multipurpose space in addition to a lounge areas overlooking downtown Bloomfield on each floor.

Totaling 234 beds, the residence hall also features three retail spaces on the ground floor that will be open to the public, headlined by a Barnes and Noble that will serve as the official institutional book store. The spaces are part of the College’s effort to be a community partner in Bloomfield’s extensive rebuilding efforts, with the building serving as one of the first completed projects in the Township-wide initiative.

“The Township is extremely pleased with the signature appearance the College building has created as you enter our downtown area, and equally pleased with the manner in which it was constructed, allowing it to achieve a Leed Status,” Bloomfield Township Director of Community Development Glenn Domenick said of the new space. “We believe the College is an integral part of our downtown revitalization efforts, and look forward to a continued bond that will lead to additional partnerships in the future.”

The building is the latest in a series of upgrades to Bloomfield’s 11-acre campus, with plans for additional renovations set to take place over the next five years. The institution most recently finished a new Nursing Learning Resource Center in January complete with the latest in healthcare simulation technology, and will break ground on a new building for its award-winning Division of Creative Arts & Technology in March of 2015.

“The opening of the Franklin Street Residence Hall is a transformative event that will allow us to expand our recruitment footprint and offer a first-class, affordable college education to more students throughout the region and worldwide,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Adam Castro. “This project, coupled with several additional initiatives on the horizon, will add to the return on investment students receive while attending Bloomfield. We are committed to student service and want to make the college experience as enjoyable and impactful as possible. I think this opening demonstrates our commitment to our students, and the exciting future for this great institution.”