By Matthew Kaufman
Managing Editor
The College has launched a fundraising campaign for the construction of a new pavilion that would serve as an outdoor performance venue and event space. The fundraising campaign will last 12-18 months, with construction slated to be completed as early as 2026.
Dubbed the TCNJ Pavilion, the venue would “provide an ideal space in which the TCNJ community and others can gather for everything from musical and dramatic performances to lectures and debates to ceremonies and presentations,” according to the College’s crowdfunding site.
“This new venue will address the need for additional space for the music program, double as an outdoor theater and provide additional classroom space that will be available for use by any academic school at the college,” said Luke Sacks, the College’s head of media relations, in an email to The Signal. “The space also will be available for approved use by students.”
The project will be fully funded by donations and is estimated to cost $3 million, Sacks said, which includes the cost of the construction in addition to the technology within the theater.
(Render courtesy of Maggie Greco, Campus Architect/Senior Director of Planning, Design & Construction)
While the fundraising website only states that the pavilion will be located in a “centralized location on campus,” Sacks said it will be built somewhere between the Social Sciences Building and Kendall Hall, with the exact location to be determined later.
The Pavilion includes a retractable, garage-like door that separates the main, indoor event space from an outdoor, covered seating area. The fundraising site notes that the space will be used year-round.
“Naming opportunities will underwrite various aspects of programming provided through the Pavilion,” another web page detailing the space states, “including but not limited to recurring programs and initiatives, student organizations’ use of the space, lecture series and scholarly panels, visiting artists, and scholar-in-residence fellowships.”
As of Dec. 19, the project had received donations from three individuals.
