Iona College received approvals from the City of New Rochelle to renovate and transform its business school building.
The renovation will more than double the academic space available to business school students and faculty and add a variety of high-tech learning spaces, including state-of-the-art classrooms and computer labs, case study and meeting spaces, faculty offices, a lecture hall, a business career center, an expanded trading floor classroom and a media suite.
“It’s an extremely exciting time for our school of business as we create a facility that fosters the interactive learning environment critical to training 21st-century leaders,” said William B. Lamb, dean of Iona’s School of Business. “We are eager to commence construction as we progress toward an upgraded and expanded building that will help elevate our student offerings to new heights.”
The school expects to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the project, which will include an inward-facing renovation and expansion of the building, in July. The new building is scheduled to open during the spring semester of the 2019-2020 school year.
The renovation was made possible through the largest gift in Iona’s history of $17.5 million from Iona alumnus Robert V. LaPenta.
“The new School of Business will be transformative for the entire college,” said Iona President Joseph E. Nyre. “We are greatly appreciative to Robert V. LaPenta for his extraordinary gift and look forward to continuing to partner with the City of New Rochelle and the talented build team on this project.”
The college has been working with architectural and planning firm Gensler to design the physical spaces of the new facility. The school is also collaborating with Langan Engineering on the site plan and civil engineering work. For project management, Iona selected JLL as a representative.
The school also received approval for an addition to Spellman Hall, which will provide a space on campus for students to meet, collaborate and create.
