Governor Cuomo Announces 30-Day Budget Amendment to Allow Monroe Community College to Relocate Its Downtown Campus
February 21, 2014
From the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that a 30-day budget amendment has been introduced to support the relocation of Monroe Community College's (MCC) downtown campus. The $72 million development project will move MCC's Damon City Campus to a new location formerly owned by Kodak at State Street and Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester. The move will enable MCC to better meet the needs of an expanding student population and establish a new urban hub for its regional campus network.
The Governor's budget amendment authorizes MCC to spend appropriations that were previously allocated to MCC for development at other potential sites that are no longer moving forward on the Kodak location.
“This budget amendment will help support the development of a new downtown campus for Monroe Community College,” Governor Cuomo said. “MCC has seen tremendous growth at its Damon City Campus in recent years, and this support will help the college continue to grow and provide more resources to its student and faculty.”
The student body at the Damon Campus has increased 480% in the past 16 years with enrollment growing to nearly 3,000 students. In order to meet demands for new space, the College's Board of Trustees approved a search for a new location for MCC's downtown campus. During the search, two sites were identified as potential homes for the downtown campus and State funding was allocated to support MCC's development at those particular sites.
A subsequent analysis determined, however, that the Kodak site was more ideal in both its capacity to house the College and the cost of developing the site. MCC has since acquired the property and is in the design stage of the new development, which offers significant improvements to academic and student services. In addition to being more financially viable than the previously identified locations, the new site is well-positioned to support private sector partnerships throughout the local community.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said, “Expanding our capacity to educate is more important than ever in the growing and competitive global economy and the relocation of Monroe Community College's downtown campus is a necessary step forward as SUNY continues to empower Monroe County's workforce. I applaud Governor Cuomo for supporting SUNY and our students, and President Kress and the Monroe Community College Board of Trustees for their dedication to our mission of educating more New Yorkers, and educating them better.”
Monroe Community College President Anne M. Kress said, “We are so grateful for Governor Cuomo's support of MCC's vision for a downtown campus. This new facility will allow us to prepare students for 21st century careers and help our region's economy grow by providing a high quality workforce. We appreciate the Governor's investment in our students and his commitment to revitalizing upstate. MCC's new downtown campus will match the aspirations of our students, the needs of our community, and build a stronger future for Rochester.”
Senator Joe Robach said, “I'm glad to see that MCC will have a quality downtown campus in the location chosen not only by the Board of Directors at MCC, but also ratified by the students. MCC is an outstanding community college with a national reputation for excellence; I'm sure this new downtown campus will serve the students and faculty well.”
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks said, “On behalf of a grateful community, I thank Governor Cuomo for helping Monroe County and MCC clear the last hurdle towards establishing a state-of-the-art new Downtown Campus for the college in the heart of our center city. I would also like to thank President Kress, the MCC Board of Trustees, the MCC student body, SUNY Chancellor Zimpher, and the Monroe County Legislature for their commitment to a Downtown Campus that is truly fitting of the college's world-class reputation. Monroe County looks forward to working closely with MCC to take this important project from vision to reality in the days to come.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said, “I am pleased to see the relocation of Monroe Community College's downtown campus coming together so well – with Governor Cuomo's budget amendment, the college can look forward to state funding as it takes this exciting new step. MCC has enriched Rochester and our surrounding communities for years, and we look forward to having them as a community partner well into the future.”
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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