106 Fulton Hall is projected to close to the University at the conclusion of the spring semester. Originally purchased in 2000, and opened to residents in 2003, the 15-story dormitory houses roughly 180 students. It has been distinguished as a living style atypical to the other options on campus. Marketing for the property is set to commence shortly and the sale is proposed to close during the summer.
“The value of the building is high in the current real estate market,” said William McGrath, Senior Vice President and COO for the Westchester campus. “We anticipate selling it for a price that will, in part, support the major upgrades we have planned for the rest of the campus.”
The news of its closure has been taken as a great loss to students who cherished Fulton Hall’s difference from other dorms they’ve lived in. Many residents concur that there is greater freedom and space associated with living in this dorm, as it is styled in the fashion of an apartment. “It feels like a ‘big kid’ space that I am free to customize to my own tastes and enjoy spending time in, rather than the generic ‘temporary living quarters’ style found in most college dormitories,” Noted junior Tess Clutter on the homey aspect of the hall.
Each dorm holds amenities such as a kitchen equipped with a stove, sink, and oven, among others. These domestic utilities provide students with the option of greater independence; though their meal plans are lowered as a result of these implementations, they need not rely on obtaining food from the cafeteria and have a wider scope of options than upperclassmen counterparts living in other dorms.
The selling of Fulton Hall, by some, is foreseen to produce a positive impact for the University overall. “We plan to expand student collaborative, social, and dining spaces, and make many other improvements to the campus that will benefit students. The sale of 106 Fulton will help support that effort,” McGrath later stated.
Though the building houses less than eight percent of residents, the move to sell the dorm has some searching for apartments of their own as they are left disappointed from the proposed change. “Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t even considered leaving [the University’s] housing program…there’s a good chance that I won’t be utilizing [their] housing next semester because of the lease,” Clutter later noted. She found the dorm to be the most economically sound choice, as it gave her more space for a cheaper price. She deems it an “expensive downgrade” to live in Beekman or John Street.
Others students remain neutral to the situation, but still sympathize with those who took advantage of dorm options and are faced with procuring alternatives on such a whim. To compensate for the loss, 55 John Street will return to housing upperclassmen students, becoming a dorm utilized exclusively by the University.
