Although there have been several buildings renovated during the period, the Wellness Center will involve the first new construction at the campus in the last 40 years. Construction is expected to begin in the late summer or fall of this year.

"Through the Wellness Center, the college will expand our commitment to education for health and well-being, and bring that knowledge into the community," says College of New Rochelle president Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny. "We're not just constructing a building, we are drawing on our strength as a women-centered, faith-based liberal arts institution and matching it with the critical need to build a healthier society."

The Wellness Center will include a gymnasium with bleachers that can accommodate 1,500 people, a basketball and volleyball courts, an interior running track suspended above the gym floor and a six-lane NCAA competition swimming pool, lockers and showers. In addition, a 3,500-sf fitness center will also be part of the new building that will feature a weight and equipment room, aerobics and dance studio, meditation room and contemplation roof garden.

College officials noted that the Wellness Center will also contain several technologically equipped learning spaces for conferences, seminars and classroom instruction that will host programs geared to teaching students health and wellness education. Incorporated into the first floor will be the college's Health Services Department, which offers health programs, provides preventive health care, treats acute health problems and makes referrals. The department is currently located in a small house on campus that will be torn down to make way for center which will be constructed at the southwest corner of the campus along Liberty Ave. and Meadow Lane. The project is designed by Ikon.5 Architects of Princeton, NJ.