As students returned to campus for the spring semester, they were greeted with the long-anticipated opening of a new parking lot in the former Monadnock Hall and Randall Hall space.
Students were also sent an email on January 27 from KSC Parking Services stating permits were available for the lot at $100 each, plus shipping and fees. Those who were previously placed on a waiting list for a parking pass in the fall were given Blake Lot permits first.
The Equinox previously reported the demand for parking spots this academic year was nearly double the supply that the college had at the time, with 197 commuter spots available and around 400 permits requested.
With the opening of Blake Lot, an additional 140 spots were added to the college’s campus, according to Director of Campus Safety and Compliance Chris Buckley.
“I think we’ve gotten really positive feedback … We’re working our way through the waitlist,” Nathalie Houder, vice president for finance and administration, said.
As for the lot itself, Assistant Director of Facilities Services Colin Burdick said in an email statement the project is considered “completed” but the facilities team may look at adjusting the lighting in and around the lot in the future.
Houder added, “The lot itself is considered temporary, not paved. We [KSC] don’t have any definitive plans for anything else at this point in time.”
The creation of the new lot did not only arise from the need for more parking spots but also as a result of faltering building prospects for Antioch University New England.
KSC initially planned to lease the space to Antioch following the razing of Monadnock and Randall halls; however, the multi-million dollar project proved to be far out of budget for the private graduate school, according to previous Equinox reporting.
“Antioch was not able to come up with the funding for the increased cost of the building that they had intended to build so they have stepped away from building new construction on that site,” Houder said.
However, Blake House, which stands next to the lot, is still planned to house Antioch’s administrative offices and some classrooms, according to Houder.
“[Antioch] have been on campus to look at co-location on [KSC’s] campus in existing spaces that we’re not fully utilizing,” Houder said.
The partnership would operate similarly to KSC and River Valley Community College’s co-location, Houder said.
Houder said she could not yet reveal which specific campus locations may be used by Antioch in the co-location as the partnership talks remain active, adding KSC students are a priority in using any spaces on campus.
As matters currently stand, Antioch is continuing to lease space at its old building on 40 Avon St., which now houses the nonprofit organization Monadnock Family Services (MFS).
Houder said the lease between Antioch and MFS would terminate around the fall of 2026.
“[The co-location] would be before that so that they would be able to come into campus and be fully functioning by that point, but we’re hoping earlier than that,” Houder said.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
