"With this master plan, a vision for the campus has been created," said La Roche College president Monsignor William A. Kerr. "It is a vision for both new and existing facilities and how they can be developed to fulfill the College's mission and accommodate essential growth. The facilities included in this plan will create a campus that will sustain an enrollment of 3,000 students, support the College's mission and objectives, reflect our core values and help us reach even new levels of excellence."

Kerr noted that this plan is distinct from previous planning studies because it examines both the east and west campus areas with the goal of uniting them as a single campus. "The campus plan that has been developed will enable us to utilize the mostly undeveloped 37-acre west campus as the location for major new facilities and provide a strong visual presence for the College along Babcock Boulevard. At the same time, it will enhance the landscape and improve pedestrian circulation on campus," he said.

A key element of the plan is a pedestrian bridge across Babcock Boulevard, which is envisioned to become the "new crossroads" of the campus. "The bridge will enable us to overcome the physical and psychological barriers presented by Babcock Boulevard and tie the entire 80-acre campus together as one," said Kerr. The bridge will also provide a vital link between the two sides of the campus, allowing easy, barrier-free passage for pedestrians and leaving no doubt as to the easiest and safest route between the east and west campuses.

Anchoring the west end of the bridge will be a new Information Resource Center (IRC). This facility would house the library, computer services, and select administrative offices, possibly including the president's office. With a major portion of the facility devoted to the library, it is expected that the IRC will be the symbolic "heart" of the campus utilized by the entire College community. The IRC will be part of a "signature composition" of buildings that will in- clude a new Science Building and a Center for Performing Arts, all of which will front on Babcock Boulevard and create a new "front door" along this busy thoroughfare.

Located adjacent to the IRC, the Science Building would house the relocated science functions from the existing Palumbo Science Center, along with additional laboratories, classrooms and offices needed to meet projected growth in the sciences. Completing the signature composition would be the Performing Arts Center. Containing a 560-seat auditorium, classrooms and performance support space, this facility would function as both a College and community resource. In addition to these new buildings, the plan for the west campus includes the renovation of Providence Hall to house the Graphic Design Center.

The arrangement of the IRC, the Science Building and Providence Hall will result in the formation of a new academic quad for the western side of campus. This large campus green space at the core of the academic facilities will become an important site for informal socialization. The plan also calls for walled terraces to be created on the east sides of these buildings. This will reduce the need for steep slopes, reinforce the signature composition, and allow for the creation of terraced plazas and walkways adjacent to the buildings. In turn, this will help create additional social spaces that foster interaction and enhance the feeling of community.

Also slated for the west side of campus are new residence halls that will eventually provide housing for 745 students. The buildings will feature apartment-style suites that will accommodate six students in each unit. Each suite will have a living area, small kitchenette, bath- room facilities and three bedrooms. The new residential buildings would be arranged around a two-acre quadrangle featuring a pond and meandering pathways.

The east end of the Babcock Boulevard bridge will terminate at the Zappala College Center, providing a link to the academic core of the eastern end of the campus. A new walkway would lead to the classroom addition already under construction and to points beyond, including the existing Palumbo Science Center. The steeply sloping area between the Zappala Center extension and the Palumbo Science Center would be developed into an amphitheater-style area with stepped seating that could be used for outdoor classes, performances or casual sitting. Additional green space would also be added to the eastern side of campus with the conversion of the existing parking lot adjacent to the Palumbo Science Center to a new College quadrangle. This area would greatly enhance the eastern end of campus - especially after the completion of the Bold Hall expansion that is under way - and would function as an important social space.

As the western side of campus develops, particularly with the IRC and the new Science Building, existing spaces on the east campus will become available for other uses. These spaces, with varying levels of renovation, will provide needed room for a variety of College functions. Possible uses under study include: creating a new campus dining facility in the space currently occupied by the library; expanding student center functions into the space that is the existing dining hall; and relocating select administrative functions such as Pacem In Terris, Finance, Student Services, and Human Resources into the renovated Palumbo Science Center.

While pedestrian ease and safety are addressed with the bridge over Babcock Boulevard, the plan does not overlook the automobiles that will travel under the bridge. Currently, vehicle traffic enters the College and the adjacent property of the Sisters of Divine Providence via three separate entrances that all intersect Babcock Boulevard within a zone of 350 feet. An alternate approach suggested by the master plan would combine these three entrances into a single intersection with Babcock Boulevard. This arrangement would provide safer traffic patterns, wider entrance and exit lanes for both properties and the potential of adding a traffic signal - if needed - at a later date.

The plan also addresses the additional parking needs of the campus along with both the above grade infrastructure needs (roadways, paths and lighting) and the below ground needs (water, sewers, electrical, and communications). The College and the Town of McCandless will need to continue to work together on issues such as traffic, parking and storm water management.

The plan is designed to be completed in six phases over a period of 15 years, with the exact timing being determined by the College's needs and the availability of private support. Each phase corresponds to the relative priority in terms of the College's overall development and planning.

Phase one features two projects that are already under way - the Zappala College Center expansion and the 200-bed addition to Bold Hall. Other projects slated for phase one include the Babcock Boulevard bridge, the IRC, and the Providence Hall renovation. The major element of phase two is the new Science Building. Phase three would see the construction of a 160-bed residence hall on the west campus, the first stage of the new residential quadrangle. This phase would also include the interior renovation of the existing Palumbo Science Center and the addition of a parking structure on the west campus.

The performing arts center is planned as the centerpiece for phase four. Addition of the next 192 beds of residence hall capacity on the west campus would also occur in this phase. The completion of the west campus residence halls, a 108-bed addition to Bold Hall, and a parking deck on the east campus would round out phases five and six.

"This master plan represents an exciting, ambitious and necessary undertaking for the College - one that will be a physical manifestation of the growth and development in quality and stature that the College has experienced," Kerr said. "I am confident that with the commitment and effort of the entire La Roche family, we can make this vision a reality."