Thomas Edison State University on Friday celebrated the opening of its 34,360-square-foot Glen Cairn Hall
TRENTON -- For decades, the Glen Cairn apartment complex was a hulking eyesore at the corner of West State and Calhoun streets.
But over the past three years, Thomas Edison State University has given new life to one of the city's gateways, first with the demolition of the dilapidated buildings and then with the construction of a new school building.
School and city officials on Friday celebrated the opening of Glen Cairn Hall, a 34,360-square-foot building that houses the university's W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and student advising center.
"We took a property that was blighted and an eyesore and we built something that is a fitting gateway to the city," President George Pruitt said.
The site was once home to the Glen Cairn Mansion before it was torn down to make room for the apartment complex.
After the city condemned the site in 1997 and ordered all the residents out, it sat vacant. In 2013, the city ceded the property to the school for a onetime payment $300,000, a move criticized by residents.
Demolition was completed that fall and construction began in the spring of 2014. About half of the project's $26.2 million costs came from the voter-approved Building Our Future Bond Act.
"Even if we had just made it a plot of grass, simply removing that blighted eyesore that was just a horrible stain on the city's landscape would have been a great contribution," Pruitt said. "But we were able to replace it with a beautiful gateway structure."
He added that the construction also provided a boost to the local economy since about 20 percent of the workers were city residents.
Coupled with the other buildings TESU has transformed, "We think we made a great contribution to changing the face of the capital district," Pruitt said.
Though the university specializes in tech-oriented degree programs designed for working adults, Pruitt said Glen Cairn Hall will serve as many as 3,000 students a year.
Students in its accelerated second-degree nursing program, which allows those who have earned bachelor's in non-nursing majors to complete a degree in 12 months, will attend classes there. More than two dozen students will be starting in October as part of the next cohort.
The first floor features meeting and conference space, a student advising center, lounge and gallery space to display donated inventions, artifacts and memorabilia from the school's namesake.
The second floor houses the nursing school, including simulation laboratories, lecture halls, classrooms and a testing center, while the third floor has meeting rooms and offices.
The architect was Clarke Caton Hintz, the construction manager was Joseph Jingoli & Son and the general contractor was Epic.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.