ELIZABETH, NJ-Union County College is expanding its satellite campus presence in this city's Downtown area with a new $48-million, six-story, 132,000-sf academic building. Work is under way on the 1.4-acre site, a half block from the institution's existing Lessner Building. UCC's main campus is in Cranford, and it has additional sites in Scotch Plains and Plainfield.

“It gives us a chance to bring in newer facilities,” says UCC president Thomas Brown. “This complex is part of our focus to make sure we are equipped to prepare students for the professional demands of the 21st century.”

The new Elizabeth I. Kellogg Building will house the school's Trinitas School of Nursing, as well as its Industry Business Institute, continuing education program, a new expanded library and an information center. The top floor is where the IBI will be situated, where it will share space with a conference center and office suites. The building will also feature a two-story atrium lobby, a 150-seat lecture hall and a food court.

The building is being developed by the Union County Improvement Authority, and the funding is coming from a combination of state and county sources. The county portion is coming from bonds issued by the UCIA; the state's contribution to the project will be a total of $19 million, according to school officials.

When it opens in late 2009, the new facility is expected to serve about 8,300 students out of UCC's total student body of approximately 26,000. It's named for the late Elizabeth Irwin Kellogg, a native of this city who served as president of the Union County College and was a governor emeritus of the school.

Terminal Construction Corp. of Wood-Ridge is the project's contractor, and the locally based Imperial Construction Co. is the construction manager. Fletcher Thompson Architects & Engineers of East Brunswick designed it.

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