After two years of countless meetings, the Community-College Planning Committee came to a decision this June about zoning laws regarding new residence halls for Iona.  

The committee, comprised of Iona College, the city of New Rochelle, and residents of the surrounding area, has discussed a housing option that will accommodate the increasing amount of residential students at the college.

The Community-College Planning Committee came to an agreement on a future residence hall: a seven-story building on North Avenue that would accommodate 260 students in four-to-six person suites across six floors. The first floor would be used for commercial space controlled by the building’s developer.

This plan was agreed upon because not only did it meet Iona’s need for more residence hall space, but also because the first floor would be used for commercial space. This would help the continued effort to turn North Avenue into a lively and exciting area in New Rochelle.

Nothing is set in stone, but Charles Carlson, Vice Provost for Student Life at Iona College, states that this would be the most ideal plan moving forward. “By having this building on North Avenue, it opens up a lot of new opportunity with not only the college, but with the surrounding area as well,” Carlson said.

This new residence hall is ideally going to be used for freshmen and sophomores. Conese and South would remain mostly upperclassmen, as the larger suite-styled living better suits the needs of older students.

The new zoning laws also extend the increase in legal occupancy of students living in residence halls such as Loftus and Conese by 150 persons. This increase might sound alarming, but Carlson explains that this is “all within fire, building, and safety code.”

When the new residence hall is built, the amount of students living in other residence halls will decrease, as well as the amount of students currently residing at the Marriott Residence Inn located within New Roc City.

“[The Marriott] has been a temporary solution for the past three years,” Carlson explains. “I think the Marriott will be used until we get to where we want size wise.”

With over 200 more residential freshman than there were last year, Residential Life worked very hard to accommodate the needs of all students. By keeping the freshmen on-campus rather than moving them to the Marriott, Carlson explains that it would “give them a better connection with the college.”

Moving students that already planned to live in on-campus residence halls to the Marriott was not an easy decision to make, but Carlson explained it was necessary to ensure that the incoming freshmen had the best first year they could possibly have.

The Marriott has become a great solution to a temporary problem. It provides a way for upperclassmen to enjoy the benefits of being a residential student, but still have the feeling of freedom they would if they were living off-campus. However, Carlson said, “The college wanted to keep residents living at the Marriott connected to the college and make sure that they are satisfied.”

Keeping residents at the Marriott necessitated the continuation of the Gael Express shuttle service. An announcement last spring stated that the college would discontinue the van service between the campus, the Marriott and the New Rochelle Metro North train station, as the college was not planning on having any students residing at the Marriott.

But with the high level of demand to live on-campus, it was announced that the Gael Express would keep running in the fall as students are now living in the Marriott once again. The $55 fee that was initially planned to be used to keep the Gael Express running, regardless of students living in the Marriott, was refunded to all students.