The facility, which will cost $2.68 million to build, will housestate-of-the-art classrooms for a cooperative program betweenPurchase College and Long Island University. LIU, which isunderwriting the project, will relocate its Westchester GraduateCampus to the site and use the classrooms in the evenings for itsmostly adult commuter students, university officials say. Work isset for completion in spring 2001.

During the construction phase, LIU will house its WestchesterCampus operations in temporary space at Purchase College and innearby Rye Brook. The center will feature 14 “smart” classroomswired for computers and the Internet and will have two computerlabs. A large entrance lobby enclosed by full-height glass willalso be equipped with data and power facilities for Internetconnections and will serve as an informal meeting area.

Officials with both schools note that although the twoinstitutions will share space at the new learning center, they willoperate completely independently of one another.