A year ago, JP Conte’s $25 million gift to Colgate was a line in a campaign release. Today it’s a construction site on Broad Street, with cranes and crews turning an announcement into brick and glass.
Tracking the project from pledge to poured foundation shows how a single donation reorganized a corner of the campus, and what students will actually get once the dust settles.
From announcement to groundwork
The gift was announced in May 2025 as the anchor of Colgate’s West Campus plan, a $105 million effort the university calls the most significant campus expansion in its history. The Social Center, the building tied to Conte, became the visible heart of that plan almost immediately.
The design teams knew the terrain. Robert A.M. Stern Architects had already delivered Bernstein Hall, and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates had shaped Peter’s Glen, so neither firm needed a long runway to start.
A campaign built for scale
The scope explains the pace. Colgate organized the gift inside its Campaign for the Third Century, which set a $1 billion goal in 2022 and stands as the largest fundraising effort by a liberal arts institution of its size.
A building at the heart of a campaign that big was never going to sit on the drawing board for long. Renovations rolling out across nearby Greek and theme houses at the same time show how much of the campus the plan reshapes at once.
What’s rising on Broad Street
North House and South House, two large residences, will attach to the Social Center, and two smaller study buildings nearby will hold seminars and group work. A shared path called The Walk will thread the whole thing together.
A green anchor named The Park, set on an extension of Taylor Lake, closes out the design. Work has already begun at 66 Broad Street, with renovations continuing at 70 Broad Street and across nearby houses.
What students get at the finish
Once the crews wrap, juniors and seniors will move into theme houses, apartments, and townhouses across West Campus. Every senior will have the option of a single room, and about half of each junior class will too.
Conte framed the purpose of the building in personal terms when the gift was announced, and the sentiment has aged into the concrete now taking form. “The new Conte House will be a vital gathering place for students of all backgrounds, and supporting future generations in this way is nothing short of an honor for me and my family,” he said.
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