Cincinnati: Xavier University Hoff Quad construction

[seicer 4]

I was given the opportunity to tour the Xavier University Hoff Quad construction project as an employee on December 17. I've included renderings and photographs from yesterday.

Xaiver University

Xavier University is a private Jesuit liberal-arts university in Cincinnati, Ohio with a current enrollment of 4,000 undergraduate students and 2,600 graduate students. The Xavier University campus is approximately 125 acres large and features two central malls, and several notable structures, including the Gallagher Student Center, which includes dining options, a bank and student support services.

The Hoff Academic Quad is a 9.5-acre quad that will feature over 170,000 square feet of new academic space, under construction along Ledgewood Drive. The Quad will feature three new facilities: the Conaton Learning Commons, a complex for the Williams College of Business and a central utility plant. It also includes 12 acres of site improvements, such as landscaping and fountains, and a large open space bearing the name of James E. Hoff, S.J., 33rd president of Xavier. Stairs leading from the existing academic mall to the Quad will be named St. Ignatius Steps.

The $115 million project was funded through the "To See Great Wonders" capital campaign and a bond issue.

Conaton Learning Commons

The new 84,453 Conaton Learning Commons is a five-level academic structure being constructed within the Hoff Academic Quad. It will open in the summer of 2010.

The new Commons will feature a 200-seat auditorium, three classrooms, academic labs, individual study rooms, a computer and digital media lab, academic advising centers, honors seminar room and 66 offices.

Initial rendering on the left, with the curved building looking northwest.

An earlier rendering showing more of the then-proposed Quad project. Xavier Square at this time was proposed. Dana Avenue runs west-east and is being upgraded in 2010-2011 into a boulevard with a landscaped median and bike lanes. Ledgewood will end mid-point and traffic to Herald Avenue will be detoured around via a traffic circle and a new boulevard.

November 3, 2009

December 17, 2009 at sunset. The following are from the same date.

These houses will be demolished in early 2010 for a pedestrian plaza and fountain.

A large bank of windows, three-stories high, floods the Learning Commons with natural light.

This wall will be punched through on Saturday to connect to the existing library.

More photographs available at the article above.

Williams College of Business

The new Williams College of Business is a four-level state-of-the-art classroom and support facility being constructed within the Xavier University Hoff Academic Quad. It will open in the summer of 2010.

The new 88,123 square feet structure will feature a trading room with computer terminals featuring Bloomberg financial database and Reuters Station capabilities, 18 classrooms, 17 project workrooms, multimedia centers, study rooms, computer labs, 110 faculty and staff offices, executive conference rooms, and dedicated facilities for the Cintas Center for Business Ethics and the Sedler Family Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. It will also be host to three executives-in-residence suites.

This is the building on the lower right.

November 3, 2009

Large, natural-lit lobby.

Classroom.

Looking towards the future stock trading center.

More photographs available at the article above.

New residence hall and dining facility

On December 11, 2009, the Xavier University Board of Trustees approved construction of a new residence hall and dining facility. The proposed residence hall would house approximately 535 students in suites, while the dining facility would have a capacity of 800. The new dining hall would replace the current dining facility at the Cintas Center, and would be located in the core of Xavier's campus at Ledgewood and Herald.

Construction on the new residence hall could begin in early 2010 when four houses at Ledgewood and Herald are demolished.