The $1.2B Paulson Center at NYU to be Fully Operational by March
The announcement comes as the University prepares to open the distinctive new building, the first to be built under a plan approved by the City a decade ago. It will be dedicated as the John A. Paulson Center.
They were joined for the dedication by former NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio, an NYU alumnus who will join NYU’s Wagner School in January as the 2023 Marnold Visiting Fellow.The gift is among the largest NYU has ever received at its Washington Square Campus. The largest academic building built by NYU at its Washington Square core, the Paulson Center will also serve the widest range of uses. The facility, beginning in 2016, is now open and will be fully operational by the end of March.
The John A. Paulson Center fills a wide range of essential needs for NYU, providing state-of-the-art facilities in support of its prestigious educational and performing arts programs, sports and recreational facilities, student housing, and faculty housing. Specifics include:
- Fifty-eight new mid-size classrooms (approximately 25 students), which NYU currently has too few of, which also will permit spaces in the Silver Center to be converted to labs
- A 350-seat proscenium theater with fly loft capabilities, providing NYU’s renowned performing arts programs with a professional-grade theater
- Additional spaces for the dramatic and performing arts, including a space commemorating the African Grove Theater
- An orchestral rehearsal hall, providing the University Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble with their first dedicated, acoustically brilliant room for practicing together
- Practice rooms for music majors to rehearse and refine their skills in an acoustically pristine and central location
- Common spaces that allow students to engage in group study, quiet individual study, or socialize
- New athletics facilities include:
- NCAA regulation basketball courts with technology to record and analyze game and practice videos
- A six-lane pool
- Fitness and weight rooms, squash courts, and an indoor track
- A 400-bed residence hall for first-year students
- Eating facilities both for students who live in the building and for those who are using the academic, performing arts, and sports functions
- Forty-two units of faculty housing
The two basement levels are dedicated to sports and recreation, which include a pool, a four-court basketball area with seating, cardio and weightlifting equipment, martial arts rooms, and squash courts. These athletic facilities replace the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center, a university athletic facility that was demolished in 2016 and 2017.
For a full breakdown of what is featured in the new NYU Paulson Center, click here for the full press release.
