New Building
Thirteen stories overlooking the Hudson River. More than 600,000 square feet of new space. State-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories. A campus Commons the size of a football field.
In a development as crucial to the transformation of John Jay as any academic overhaul, a new building is slowly emerging from the site behind Haaren Hall, one that will provide the first sense of “campus” that the College has known in its 42-year history.
John Jay has called many places home — from a single floor in the Police Academy to four floors of rented space in a Park Avenue office building to the former shoe factory that became North Hall to Haaren Hall, also known as the T Building, for its 10th Avenue location. The new building is designed to integrate the campus, now scattered among four West Side buildings, providing needed “breathing space” as well as specialized facilities never before seen at John Jay.
Designed by the renowned architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the new building will increase John Jay’s overall space by 36 percent, with new “smart” classrooms, lecture halls and conference spaces, state-of-the-art forensic science laboratories and research facilities, and space for faculty offices, student activities and academic support services. Plans also call for a moot-court room and a “black box” theater.
Connecting the new tower to Haaren Hall will be an urban campus commons five stories above street level, complete with grass, trees, outdoor cafes and gathering places for students and faculty.
The building’s main entrance will be located on 59th Street, with a secondary one on 11th Avenue, leading to a street-level café. A central “cascade” and non-congested corridors will enhance circulation, while academic quad floor plans promote faculty-student interaction.