The groundbreaking for the long awaited Hillyer Shaw Center took place on Monday June 6. Dignitaries from all over the University Community took part in the ceremony. Among them President Walter Harrison and Hillyer Dean David H Goldenberg. Both said that the project would not just benefit Hillyer College Students but the entire University as a whole.

Also on hand for the event was Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra who graduated from the University. Segarra said that when something good happens at the University of Hartford it benefits the entire city of Hartford. Segarra, Harrison, and Goldenberg were joined by Thomas Groark Jr, Chair, Board of Regents, John and Debi Shaw the projects Lead Donors, James McManus, SLAM Collaborative Architects, and Dean Andrews, from Bank of America who donated $250,000 to the project. The lobby will be named for Bank Of America.

The Shaw Center project was announced just before the recession and many donors had to pull out because of personal financial troubles. Dean Goldenberg says that added support from the Shaw Family and several smaller donations put the project back on track.

Construction for the project has already begun. A fence now blocks off assess to the front of Hillyer Hall. Crews could be seen on Monday boarding up windows on the second floor of the building to protect the interior from excavation and demolition work that had just begun.

Director of Facilities Norman Young tells STN’s Ben Wilcox that he hopes the project will be completed sometime in early 2012.

The Shaw Center building will also include a coffee bar, student lounge, and office space for faculty and staff. This will be the first major renovation to Hillyer Hall since it was built. Hillyer Hall was the first building built at the University of Hartford Bloomfield Avenue Campus.