OUB Breaks Ground on Arden Hill Gym

New gym a key phase in expansive capital improvement project across OUB campuses

Students dug the first ceremonial scoops of soil as Orange-Ulster BOCES broke ground on a new gymnasium. Now officially under construction on the OUB campus at Arden Hill, the gym is a key element of the voter-approved initiative designed to modernize, expand and repair educational facilities across OUB’s two main campuses.

The ground breaking, held June 23 on the job site, was attended by educational, construction, athletic, organized labor union and community leaders, as well as special guests Robert J. Rodriguez, President of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY); Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, and retired OUB Chief Operating Officer William Hecht, who was at the OUB helm in 2021 when the capital project was first pitched to the OUB Board of Cooperative Education.

“Mr. Hecht and (and administrators) met with the Board during a retreat to present the idea of undertaking up to a $160 million project,” said OUB Assistant Superintendent Mark Coleman, who is overseeing much of the capital project. “(Board President Eugenia Pavek) looked around the room and said, ‘We’re doing all of it .. we have one opportunity to get this right. We need to be all in’.”

With the Board resolved to move forward, the next steps required careful planning and coordination. The Board and OUB administration had to outline the scope of the work, determine costs, and ensure the project aligned with the long-term needs of students and staff. Just as critically, they needed to build support among component school districts and voters. 

Reflecting on the significance of the project, DASNY president Robert Rodriguez said, “We believe that smart investments in public infrastructure - like this one - are what help communities to thrive, so I just want to say to the educators, the administrators, the DASNY members, our project partners and especially to the students, thank you for your vision.