Milestone ‘Capping Off’ Ceremony for New Residence Hall

NEW PALTZ — The first of two new residence halls will complete a major construction milestone Monday when the last structural steel beam is lifted into place.

At 1 p.m., construction workers from Sweet Associates and representatives from the New York Dormitory Authority will commemorate the milestone by autographing the final beam and placing an evergreen tree on it.

Media are invited to cover the event. The best access to the construction site is through the construction staging area next to the university’s health center along Southside Loop.

Background: On Aug. 8, the university broke ground on the first of two new residence halls. Construction is on schedule to be completed in summer 2001, in time for the fall semester.

The $11 million residence hall is designed to house 231 students, including two apartments for the university’s residence life staff. Construction on the second residence hall will begin by summer 2001.

On Dec. 14, the SUNY New Paltz College Council agreed on proposed names for the halls and forwarded the names to the SUNY Board of Trustees for final approval. The proposed names are Esopus Hall for the first hall, and Lenape Hall for the second. The names were selected to recognize Native American influence in the Hudson Valley region.