John Meditz '70, who is the Vice Chairman of Horizon Asset Management Inc. in New York, and was recently named as the “Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year” by the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Great news, this is badly needed (like 10 years ago). I really hope it becomes a top notch facility, makes a HUGE difference in getting students to Fairfield.
Post by Stagophile on Apr 10, 2014 17:28:43 GMT -5
Wowza! I believe $10 million is the single largest gift from a direct alumnus of the University! It is this kind of generosity that gives me great hope for the future of Fairfield University. For such a "young" university, it really is amazing the kind of donations Fairfield has received over the years from alums and non- alums alike.
Mr. Meditz made known his gift intention in late March through a letter to fellow trustees presented during a recent Board meeting. Noting that enhancements to the University's facilities - along with endowment growth - were among the critical priorities that the board had identified as essential to the long-term success of the institution, Mr. Meditz wrote, "Investing in strategically important facilities that either we lack or are in need of modernization is vital to Fairfield's overall reputation for excellence and to how it is perceived among its various audiences, particularly prospective students.
"With the new Rafferty Stadium construction for Fairfield's lacrosse programs underway, we need to accelerate the expansion and modernization of the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex. In making my commitment it is my sincere hope that it will encourage and inspire others to make exemplary donations by increasing current gifts or making new ones," Mr. Meditz wrote.
The Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex, located in the center of campus serves more than 95 percent of the student body, as well as many faculty and staff. It was built in 1979 and houses the swimming pool, Birkenstock field house, racquetball courts, and fitness and weight area that support general recreation, intramural and club sports, and the varsity swimming and diving teams.
The University has retained Cannon Design as architects and Shawmut Design and Construction as construction managers for the project and all approvals necessary from the Town of Fairfield have been received. The project would unite all of the recreational services. An 11,000 square foot two-story expansion, combined with significant renovation of the existing facility, will greatly expand fitness and weight-training space, provide additional multi-purpose rooms and spaces, include an indoor running/walking track, modernize floor surfaces for increased usage by intramural, club, and varsity sports programs, air-condition the field house, and provide new, dedicated locker rooms for the varsity swimming and diving teams.
"Investing in strategically important facilities that either we lack or are in need of modernization is vital to Fairfield's overall reputation for excellence and to how it is perceived among its various audiences, particularly prospective students."......How does this not also refer to Alumni Hall, a facility that the University says is "not up to Division 1 standards" and is 20 years older than the Rec Plex?
"air condition the field house". Sounds like that could be extent of the AH renovation plan?
....Frassinelli expressed the hope to someday install air-conditioning in Alumni Hall, which would make Commencement-related ceremonies and other events even more enjoyable. Long-term, plans include upgrading Alumni Hall’s seating.
“Alumni Hall has a lot of history attached to it” including the original seal of Fairfield University, according to Frassinelli. These improvements are “much deserved” given the meaning and importance of this edifice. Doris added, “An upgraded Alumni Hall is an important piece in the success of our Volleyball and Women’s Basketball programs.”
Overall, the renovation of Alumni Hall is a work-in-progress, but will have lasting effects for students and alumni alike. These advancements will enable Alumni Hall’s appearance to match its heart and history.
If not making at least "upgrading Alumni Hall seating" as part of this capital campaign then when?
Some good "benchmark" type information about the cost of constructing an athletic facility on campus. I'll assume Mr Meditz generous contribution pays for 100% of the new 11,000 sq ft addition and the substantial upgrades to the existing Rec plex facility. The cost for the new facility and upgrade calculates to be $900 a sq ft. If you apply that cost per sq ft to a replacement for Alumni Hall , the new building would be in the range of $60-$65 million. That assumes the current Alumni hall with a seating capacity of 2500+ in a current configuration of 45,000 sq. ft.,expands to a seating capacity of 3,500 and 65,000 sq. ft. of space. The additional 20,000 sq. ft. would be necessary to accommodate the additional 1000 people in a new convocation center. That cost does not take into account additional parking that may be needed to accommodate fans on game nights,any of the off campus roadway improvements that I am sure the town of Fairfield will demand if the facility seating capacity is increased above the current Alumni hall levels or the cost of other improvements inside the new building so it can be used for multiple purposes ( concerts, graduation, business shows, community events etc.). Quite a "big nut" to crack and one that IMO is hard to justify when you can rent a first class arena, only & miles from campus to house your mens hoop games and and other large capacity university events.
New Arena on bigger footprint, with parking (3,500+) - $80 Million Gut Alumni Hall Rebuild with top quality (2,500) - $40 Million Cosmetic Changes, Chairbacks (2,000)- $15 Million
I don't want just cosmetic changes, and I don't think an 80 million arena will be approved. Gut it.... blow-up and excavate the lobby. And Build a lot of standing room for the students. They don't need chairs.
Stagophile & Others - While I dream about knocking down the RecPlex and Alumni Hall and building a facility that matches the Prep Buildings and Cameron Indoor Arena (Duke's facility), I was amazed by the renovation of the library to become DiMenna-Nyselius Library.
I think with vision and creativity, the RecPlex can become a great building.
Let us not take the original plans as final, but continue to think of ways to improve them to make the Meditz-Quick Recreational Complex a building Mr. Meditz, alumni, and others can be proud of!
Stags74 - $900 a square foot? Is that the market price for a construction project like this? Seems high.
John Meditz - Thank you, thank you, thank you! Proud to be a Stag!