UConn-Avery Point to Create New Campus Gateway

The University of Connecticut at Avery Point will begin tearing down the building that houses the student center next month, to make room for a new campus gateway that will include a student lounge, gaming space and renovated 300-seat theater.

The work would be the first major construction project at the campus in 10 years, Campus Director Michael Alfultis said.

“I think it’s going to have a very dramatic impact on the campus,” he said.

The $6.8 million project will also include a fully-equipped campus food center that could be run by the University’s main campus in Storrs, allowing local students to add their food bill to their financial aid package.

Construction would take 12 months, with the campus planning to break ground next winter, Alfultis told the Groton Economic Development Commission Thursday.

Food service could be handled one of two ways; it could be run by the main campus in Storrs, or by a private company chosen after a bidding process. The campus has extended its contract with Finn’s Café for another year, and has asked Storrs if it is interested in running the food program.

Either way,  Avery Point will continue to have food  at Project Oceanology, which runs summer camps and serves visitors from the nearby Shennecossett Yacht Club, Alfultis said. 

The student center is one of the older buildings on campus, and was constructed along with other Coast Guard Training Center Buildings in the 1940s.

UConn-Avery Point enrolls 660 undergraduate students and about 100 students in graduate programs in marine sciences, engineering and nursing.