With the acquisition of the former General Electric global headquarters, SLAM has facilitated the adaptive reuse of 819,000-SF across three buildings for Sacred Heart University. Just minutes away from the main campus, the new West Campus provides the university with unique learning environments that respond to today’s business needs. Artificial intelligence labs, cybersecurity labs, maker space labs, and co-working spaces facilitate the connection between industry and the university. The West Building includes classrooms, computer labs, administrative and faculty offices, as well as plenty of space for students to study and relax between classes. In addition, a new 4,000-seat Division 1 hockey arena serves the SHU athletic teams, the university community, and residents in the region.
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at-a-glance
Campus Context
Original General Electric Global Headquarters
Original General Electric Site Plan
General Electric vacated 819,000-SF of viable real estate in Fairfield, CT. Sacred Heart University had a vision to transform the buildings into learning spaces, and centralize off-campus, dispersed facilities.
Originally planned as a 15-year renovation, the project evolved into seven renovation phases over 6 years expanding the College of Education; School of Business; art and design department, maker spaces; artificial intelligence; cyber security; and a corporate incubator. Currently, 80% of the existing West Campus has been modernized, and a 122,000-SF dynamic Division I hockey arena has been added.
The project design team and contractors relocated on-site full time to develop these revisions for approval to maintain the critical project schedule. The NICU patient room and nurse stations were redesigned using extensive on-site design sessions that were conducted in a collaborative think-tank process.
The South Lobby welcomes guests, students, faculty and staff to West Campus.
The Jack Welch College of Business & Technology has formed the successful Student Incubator Space program, offering technical and advisory support as well as funding to student-led startups, such as Nantucket Buckets, Twin Tides, and Finger Bowls, all originating out of SHU.
45,000-SF of academic space and offices, including the finance lab with live stock market updates, supports programs in cybersecurity, business analytics, game design and development, and more.
A partnership with Verizon brings iHub, an innovative co-working space to the campus. This innovation community draws on SHU faculty, staff, students, and other resources to build an academic-focused environment that attracts local startups, entrepreneurs, corporations ,and other forward-thinking organizations and individuals.
The College of Business & Technology is also home to the prototyping IDEA Lab that facilitates a transdisciplinary, problem-based, community-engaged innovation environment through digital fabrication and advanced manufacturing.
To best collaborate in the modern world, the Artificial Intelligence Lab includes 40 computers, advanced processing capabilities, and dedicated servers for students and faculty research, to provide on-premise resources that ensure safe generation and secured storage of AI datasets, with the capability to expand into larger-scale cloud-based AI infrastructures when needed.
The NeXReality Lab is dedicated to faculty and student research in virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality.
With the country’s best D1 hockey venue, the new Martire Family Arena, SHU is on the national stage for hockey with increased recruiting potential.
Higher education institutions across the country are adapting vacant office buildings for reuse as learning facilities. At Sacred Heart University, the 66-acre former GE Headquarters is home to the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, and cost the university less than half of a new construction project, Managing Principal Kevin Herrick told the Times.
Read more about this unique development: Colleges Find Real Estate Bargains in Empty Office Spaces – The New York Times
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