Rowan College at Burlington County Approves $25.4 Million Contract for Student Center Construction

Rowan College at Burlington County’s Board of Trustees have approved a $25.4 million contract with Terminal Construction Corporation of Wood-Ridge to build its 78,000 square-foot Student Success Center, the college announced Wednesday morning.

The contract, approved on Tuesday, also includes the completion of the College Circle loop and a new parking lot that will hold about 320 cars.

Construction is expected to begin next month, and the facility is expected to open in the fall of 2017.

“In about one year, we will have a stunning centerpiece welcoming students and the community to Rowan College at Burlington County,” Rowan College at Burlington County President Paul Drayton said. “There’s no need to wait another minute to see what our campus will look like. I invite everyone to view this virtual tour and step inside the future of Rowan College at Burlington County, and the future of higher education in the 21st century.”

Created as a satellite campus in 1995, Mount Laurel is now the college’s main campus as it transitions out of Pemberton – its original home for half a century. To accommodate the move, the college is converting underutilized space into office and classrooms, and needed a new building to for student services, dining, library and bookstore spaces.

“The Student Success Center is a beautiful addition to our county that the entire community can be proud of,” Burlington County Freeholder Mary Ann O’Brien said. “As a Rowan College at Burlington County alumna, I am especially proud of the dramatic improvements at RCBC, such as the Rowan University partnership, and encourage other alumni and community leaders to connect with the RCBC Foundation to support these wonderful initiatives so that even more of our residents may enjoy their benefits.”

A virtual tour of the campus is included in a video below. The video was created by USA Architects, which designed the center along with Moody Nolan, with audio added by RCBC that includes narration by Student Government Association President Christina Cover, of Mount Laurel.

The physical transformation of the campus has already begun with Student Services and the bookstore moving to a temporary location in Evans Hall until the new building is complete.

Renovations are underway at every other building on campus to accommodate more students, faculty and staff by converting underutilized space into offices or classrooms.

“This marks an important milestone in our goal of transforming Rowan College at Burlington County into the nation’s leading model of affordable and high-quality higher education,” Board Chair George Nyikita said.

“The board is very excited about this transformation and we look forward to seeing the difference it will make in students’ lives.”

To learn more about the campus transformation, visit www.rcbc.edu/campus-transformation.

To make a charitable donation in support of the Student Success Center, contact RCBC Foundation Executive Director Anika Ragins-Riley at araginsriley@rcbc.edu or 856-291-4224.

The attached image was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County