County to Loan Rowan College at Burlington County $3.5 Million for Main Campus Relocation

The Burlington County Board of Freeholders plans to award a $3.5 million loan to Rowan College at Burlington County for construction, renovation and transition costs at its Sept. 9 meeting, the Burlington County Times reports.

The money relates to the college’s decision to move its main campus from Pemberton to Mount Laurel, according to the report.

The college announced the move earlier this year, after a comprehensive facility study that proved the college did not have the demand to fill its current facilities, according to college officials.

The study concluded that the Mount Laurel campus could handle current and future need largely by converting underused space, adding on to existing facilities and eventually building a student center that will include a student success center, the library, dining facility and serve as the focal point of the campus.

The Mount Laurel campus opened in 1995, and in 10 years, has become the preferred campus among its students, college officials said.

The move “will save millions of dollars in operating costs that will be reinvested in programs and improved facilities for students, faculty and staff,” according to Rowan College at Burlington County President Paul Drayton.

The college must still negotiate the cost of the building, and the $3.5 million the county is expected to set aside for the college on Sept. 9 is part of a total of $4.35 million the county is expected to give the college for the rest of the project, according to the report.

Details of any repayment plan were unclear.

Read more at burlingtoncountytimes.com.

The attached image was previously provided by Rowan College at Burlington County