Molloy College focuses on improving campus life

Molloy College has been a busy place lately.

Last fall, the school broke ground on its new Public Square and student center. By next fall, students — and Rockville Centre residents — can expect to see the results.

The 57,000-square-foot Public Square and student center will feature a 550-seat theater as well as classrooms, conference rooms, administrative offices and a new cafeteria. Other highlights of this major capital development project will include an art gallery and a multimedia center.

“This is all very exciting for us,” said Molloy spokesman Ken Young. “We’re trying to bring the students and village together with this project, especially with the addition of our new theater.”

The theater, according to Young, will be open to the community as well as Molloy students, and it will host performances of all types.

Molloy is also building its first residence hall, on which ground was broken shortly after the 2010 graduation ceremony. When the dormitory is completed next fall, it will house 150 students.

“We’ve always been a commuter school, but our hope with the new dormitory is to attract people who want to come to Molloy but who live far away,” Young said.

Some projects, he added, were finished in time for the start of the fall semester: improvements to the campus roadway, which was widened to include a left-turn lane off Hempstead Avenue, and a newly installed traffic light near Fern Street.

Because so many parking spots on campus have been sacrificed to the ongoing construction, the college also recently leased 200 parking spots at Municipal Parking Field 12 on Sunrise Highway, with the lease running until May. Administrative and staff personnel are currently using the spots, and the college is providing shuttle bus service back and forth from the field to the campus.

“So far, these improvements have been an adjustment, but it’s all been running smoothly,” said Young.

Asked about his overall expectation for the various projects, Young was optimistic. “People can expect a new and improved Molloy College on the way,” he said. “It’ll be a very different college, but a great one, too.”

Comments about this story? TSteinert@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.