Providence, RI - Providence College officials will break ground for two new buildings - a  60,000 square foot Center for the Arts and a 325-room suite-style residence hall on Monday, June 16, 2003 at 11 a.m. on the Lower Campus. The buildings will be constructed at the site of the former tennis courts; together with existing buildings, the new facilities will form a "Quad" that will become a focal point on the Lower Campus.

The Center for the Arts will consolidate the faculty and operations of the College's thriving curricular and co-curricular programs in the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre, Dance and Film. The new two-and-one-half-story facility will allow for the expansion of performing arts programs and extend the College's community outreach, particularly among area schools. It will provide state-of-the-art classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and performance spaces, and will feature a 275-seat theatre with flexible configuration; a similarly-sized recital hall/auditorium; and related teaching, rehearsal and production facilities.

"The performing arts are an integral dimension of a liberal arts education," notes Providence College President Rev. Philip A. Smith, O.P. "The Dominican Order, in particular, has a long tradition of excellence and innovation in theatre arts. The new Center for the Arts supports Providence College's mission by providing a new and exciting venue for our vibrant programs in theatre, dance and music."
 
To date, nearly $5 million has been raised towards the estimated $17 million cost for the Center for the Arts, including a $1 million dollar direct grant and a $1 million challenge grant from The David and Lynn Angell Foundation. (Angell, a 1969 graduate of Providence College, and his wife, Lynn, were returning to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston on September 11, 2001, when it was hijacked by terrorists and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.)

Other gifts to the Center for the Arts include a $500,000 pledge from The Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Inc. of West Hartford, CT, another $1.9 million from 73 individual donors; and a federal appropriation of $565,000.

The new suite-style residence hall is designed to offer students a third option to traditional residence halls and on-campus apartments. "The addition of the 325-350 bed facility will provide on-campus housing for over 80 percent of our student body, the highest rate among all Providence-based colleges and universities," explains Fr. Smith. He also points out that it will further reduce the College's neighborhood student population from about 700 to less than 400 students. In 1992, some 1,500 Providence College students lived in off-campus apartments.

Each four-to-six person suite will feature two-person bedrooms with an adjourning common living area. The fully furnished units will include lavatories, sinks and showers; a full-size refrigerator, small sink and space for a microwave and food storage; individual temperature control; and cable TV. Laundry and common rooms will be located on the ground level.

The projects are the latest steps to be taken in fulfillment of the College's 10-year Master Space Plan. Earlier objectives included the construction of St. Dominic's Chapel, the College's first free-standing chapel and home of the Campus Ministry Center; and extensive renovations in the student union, Slavin Center, which completely refurbished and modernized the Office of Career Services and created McPhail's, a student entertainment facility.

Other projects to be undertaken in support of the Master Space Plan include renovations to the Phillips Memorial Library; a complete refurbishing of the resident student dining hall, transforming it into a food court-style eatery with restaurant seating for 1,100; and the addition of a new fitness facility in the Peterson Recreation Center.

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