Aug 12, 2004
University Center Of Chicago Dedicates Garden Terrace To Mayor Daley And Hosts Grand Opening Celebration
Daley To Participate In Rooftop Garden Tree Planting Celebration Includes Afternoon “Sneak Peek”
Media Contact: Sharon Burge, vice president of marketing for U.S. Equities Student Housing, 312/456-7102, sburge@usequities.com; Tracy Trovato, DickinsonGroup, office: 312/377-0820; cell: 312/218-3126; Cason Bufe, DickinsonGroup, office: 312/377-0824; cell: 847/477-8200
Festivities to celebrate the grand opening of University Center of Chicago, the largest multi-college residence hall in the nation, will be held Aug. 12 at 525 S. State Street.
The invitation-only dedication ceremony begins at 11 a.m. on the terrace garden, which is being named in honor of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. An open house, featuring self-guided tours and information about University Center, also will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for invited guests from the university communities.
Mayor Daley and the presidents of Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University and Roosevelt University – the triad that formed the non-profit corporation, Educational Advancement Fund (EAF), which jointly owns the 1,723-bed residence facility – will participate in a formal dedication of the building.
Following the dedication, guests will be given tours of model rooms decorated by designers from Sears, Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field’s. Music students from the three institutions will perform on various floors. The second-floor dining facility, the third-floor communal great room student lounge area and adjoining terrace, music practice rooms, art studio, multimedia rooms and a 30,000-square-foot conference center also will be open for viewing.
An open house for faculty, staff and students of the three university communities, featuring self-guided tours and information about University Center, also will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“The grand opening of University Center is an important occasion for the city of Chicago and the three schools, which have proven what can be accomplished by working together,” said Warrick L. Carter, president of Columbia College Chicago and chairman of the EAF board of directors.
“Starting later this month, students of all three schools will begin living together in the most modern and technologically advanced residence hall in the country,” he said.
U.S. Equities Student Housing, one of the nation’s leading real estate firms and the manager of University Center, will handle the student move-ins that begin in mid-August and continue through mid-September.
The 11 a.m. terrace dedication will consist of Carter, along with the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul University, and Charles R. Middleton, president of Roosevelt University, discussing the history of the project, its economic significance to Chicago’s South Loop, and its impact on future development of student housing across the nation. A tree will be planted and a plaque will be placed in the garden in honor of Mayor Daley, who will deliver remarks at the event.
During the afternoon open house, visitors can enter a drawing to win free meeting space in the building’s conference center. Also, admissions representatives from all three schools will be on hand to answer questions about the educational programs offered at each institution.
“With the opening of this unique structure, we hope to become a trendsetter and model for student housing around the nation,” said Holtschneider.
In recent months, officials from other urban universities have requested tours and information about University Center. The joint initiative has been closely watched and highlighted by local and national media, as well as higher education, real estate and construction publications.
The E-shaped, 702,000-square-foot multi-functional facility contains a variety of student housing options and amenities, as well as a full-service, year-round public conference center, summer housing accommodations and 31,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.
The $150-million facility is located on a former city-owned parking lot that was donated by the city to the EAF, which owns University Center.
Construction of University Center began in June of 2002. Since then, 1,680 undergraduate and graduate students from Columbia, DePaul and Roosevelt, and 43 University Center staff members have signed on to live in the multi-use building. It has a variety of housing options, including:
Prices range from $703 to $1,108 per month. Students from the same institution will share rooms. However, students from all three institutions are expected, in many cases, to be assigned to rooms on the same floors.
“The collaboration among our institutions has created a unique opportunity for our students to get to know and socialize with students from more than one school,” said Roosevelt University President Middleton.
Bounded by State Street, Congress Parkway, Harrison Street and Holden Court, University Center is within walking distance of Columbia, DePaul and Roosevelt and is in the heart of the South Loop, which has one of the highest concentrations of students and academic institutions in the United States.
In all, more than 52,400 students attend college in downtown Chicago, including the South Loop neighborhood, making the 26-block area the largest college town in the state – one of the largest in the nation, according to an ongoing study by the Greater State Street Council and Central Michigan Avenue Association.
Initial findings of an ongoing study done by the Greater State Street Council and the Central Michigan Avenue Association in cooperation with area universities suggest that University Center will have a significant economic impact. Based on an econometric analysis, which will be released in the fall, University Center will produce $57 million in expenditures for goods and services, generating $22.5 million in wages and salaries and 920 jobs.
View photos from the August 12 University Center dedication (photos by Bob Kusel):
Photo 1: Warrick L. Carter, president of Columbia College Chicago, the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul University, and Charles R. Middleton, president of Roosevelt University, join Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in planting a tree during a dedication of University Center of Chicago’s terrace garden to Daley.
Photo 2: Middleton, Holtschneider and Carter join resident advisors from the three schools in the lobby of University Center.
Photo 3: Mayor Daley meets the resident advisors.
Photo 4: The living area of one of University Center’s rooms.
Photo 5: Some of University Center’s rooms have sweeping views of Chicago’s Loop architecture.
