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Credit: Nick Romanenko
Alvin Rockoff, moved by speeches at the
August 3 dedication of Rockoff Hall, the
new dorm in downtown New Brunswick named
in his honor. The project is a
partnership between Rutgers and the New
Brunswick Development Corp. Rockoff, a
1949 Rutgers graduate and member of
Devco's board, is the former director of
All Star Dairies in New Brunswick.
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Senior Ariel Jordan spent the past two years at Rutgers living on Busch campus, preferring its suites with full bathrooms and ample living space.
This year, she wanted to live on College Avenue, where most of her classes and friends are located. She didn’t want to live in a regular dorm or move off-campus, either. In late August, she moved into Rockoff Hall, the newest residential building at Rutgers in the heart of downtown New Brunswick.
“I like living in downtown New Brunswick. All of my classes are on College Avenue except for one,” says Jordan, a native of Old Bridge. “It’s about a 10-minute walk to the student center on College Avenue. And since I’m closer to the theaters now, I will definitely be checking out what’s going on there.”
Rockoff Hall is the first residence hall open to students attending any school at Rutgers. The New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) broke ground on the $55 million project in February 2004. The 12-story residence hall has 126 two-bedroom apartments for four students, 48 three-bedroom single units, and 12 one-bedroom units. Rutgers buses stop right in front of the building and run until 2 a.m.
“This is definitely not your parents’ dorm room,” said Devco President Chris Paladino. “Rockoff Hall is on the cutting edge of campus housing. We’ve built an apartment building for today’s students and we’ve done it in a way that significantly reduces the university's long-term financial exposure.”
Its central location is convenient for students who have classes on any campus. The building is the newest construction in the “Downtown New Brunswick” campus, where there is a building housing the Mason Gross School of the Arts and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. The new Rutgers public safety building is just down the street. The John J. Heldrich Center Plaza is also under construction and should be finished in early 2007.
The residence hall is named after Alvin Rockoff, who serves on the board of directors for Devco, and has served as chair of the board of governors and board of trustees at Rutgers. Rockoff is also a graduate of Rutgers College’s Class of 1949.
At the dedication last month attended by about 300, Rockoff cut the ribbon on the new hall. Surrounded by four generations of his family, including his wife, Ruth, and former classmates, Rockoff said he was humbled by the honor. The building, he said, stands on the former site of a hairdresser’s shop his mother visited for years.
“Students have already shortened Rockoff Hall to ‘The Rock,’ ” said George Zoffinger, chair of the board of directors at Devco and a member of the Rutgers Board of Governors. “People will say, ‘Where do you live? I live at The Rock,’ and we’ll all think of Alvin Rockoff.”
Developers hope the location will tie Rutgers students more closely to the heart of New Brunswick. Planned are a fitness center and spa open to all Rutgers students, faculty and staff, and a 7-11, Douglass Pizza, Port City Java coffeehouse and Cold Stone Creamery that will be open to the public. Rockoff Hall is the only residence hall at Rutgers in which students can reside year-round, and they may sublet their apartments during summers. Security personnel staff the building 24 hours a day.
“Based on their location in the heart of downtown New Brunswick, students living in Rockoff will have the unique experience of transitioning very naturally into part of the city's community,” says Jennifer Frost, assistant director of residence life at Rutgers College. Frost is the building’s apartment manager, coordinating student resident assistants who will help develop a positive community spirit.
The building’s lobby has a high ceiling, contemporary colorful furnishings and a large- screen plasma television. Students provided input on interior design, and the furniture, though attractive, still meets housing regulations. Helping to distinguish the space are two framed prints by famed printmaker and Rutgers research professor June Wayne. Judith Brodsky, the founding director of the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, donated the pieces after Rockoff selected them from her collection.
Apartment-style living has become more common at universities in recent years. The apartments in Rockoff Hall have full kitchens, and units housing four students have two full bathrooms. Apartment building managers have contracted with Dormaid.com, which offers grocery delivery, room cleaning, and laundry services to students in Rockoff. Rockoff residents also took advantage this summer of discounts from Crate and Barrel for dorm extras.
The Association of College and University Housing Officers International found in a survey conducted from 1995 to 2004 that out of 113 new housing constructions on college campuses across the nation, 17 percent were either traditional or modified traditional rooms; the rest were apartments.
Elizabeth O’Connell-Ganges, associate director of student services at Rutgers, upholds the value of living in the dorm environment. “It’s those first few years of being in a residence hall where the relationships are developed, where you really have those late night conversations on the gamut of topics,” she says. “You’re challenged to think about people, values and life in different kinds of ways than you would if you were living on your own or living in a more isolated environment.”
As students become older, more mature and perhaps more studious, they crave a different environment that more closely matches the type of life many hope to lead after graduation. “There should be a progression in the type of living environment. The facilities as well as the programming should progress along a student’s development,” O’Connell-Ganges says.
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