Skidmore eyes $67.5M expansion
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Skidmore College plans to break ground by next summer on a $67.5 million science center expansion, which will include new construction and renovation of existing areas.
The completed Center for Integrated Sciences, with 115,000 square feet of new space, will have 46 research labs, 16 classrooms and 22 teaching labs.
Recently, Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation accepted Skidmore’s application for $35 million in tax-exempt, low-interest bonds for the project.
A public hearing on the application is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Final approval is expected at the Resource Corporation’s Jan. 23 board meeting. Both events will be held at the Stewart’s Office Plaza, Building 2, on Route 9 in Malta near Exit 13.
“Science programs have been an important component of Skidmore programming for years, with many noteworthy graduates and faculty members,” said Raymond F. O’Conor, Resource Corporation chief executive officer. “The new facility will keep them competitive with other institutions of higher learning and help the college carry out its mission of providing a superior education experience for its students. It helps the region by attracting the best candidates, providing a superior education and ultimately, providing the region with a more talented workforce.”
Skidmore will cover the remaining cost, $32.5 million, with a combination of fundraising, reserves and debt financing.
The college website says Skidmore is offering naming opportunities ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 for individual faculty offices, up to $25 million for the entire center. Donors may have the center’s atrium or gallery named for gifts of $3 million and $5 million, respectively.
Plans call for completely renovating the existing Dana Science facility and constructing two newadditions, a 60,000-square-foot North Wing and 55,000- squarefoot East Wing.
North Wing construction, the first phase, is expected to take two years and create more than 125 jobs. This space should be ready for occupancy in September 2020.
“A contractor has not yet been selected,” said Diane O’Connor, college spokesperson. “Bidding is planned for early 2018.”
At present, Skidmore sci- ence programs are spread across five different campus sites. The new center will bring them together to create opportunities for interdisciplinary synergy between and among programs, O’Connor said.
“Additional staff may be hired in the future for the labs, research, teaching and operations,” she said.
All 90 members of Skjdmore’s science faculty collaborated with architects, designers and technologists, as well as faculty from across the social sciences, arts, and humanities to develop plans for the facility.
The Capital Resource Corporation is a not-for-profit community development organization created by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors in 2012. Its primary role is acting as a conduit for tax-exempt bond financing for not-for-profit organizations.
Corporation funding comes from investors or institutions that purchase the bonds.
Its role is separate and distinct from the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency, which cannot issue debt for not-for-profit organizations.
However, the IDA can’t grant PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreements, which the Resource Corporation can’t.