Students at SPU

SPU at Our Hero — Saint Peter’s University has deep ties to McGinley Square. Pictured is a University sticker in the window of “Our Hero,” a McGinley Square sandwich shop.

Students from all grade years at Saint Peter’s University are looking forward to the construction of Saint Peter’s Tower in hopes that it will both improve life on campus and attract new students to the school, but many students still remain somewhat uncertain of the project’s actual extent.

“I only know a little bit. I know that it’s supposed to be a parking garage, a couple of food market stores, a movie theater, and I believe also dorms,” junior Brandon Molson said.

A view of Saint Peter’s Mac Mahon Student Center, another large-scale construction project which has increased enrollment at SPU.

Senior Courtney Bowen, an employee at the University bookstore, expressed a similar sentiment.

“I know a little bit, not a lot,” she said. “I know a lot from some friends, that I’ve talked to them about it. I know some things from the President because he comes into the bookstore. That’s about it.”

However, despite some general uncertainty about what the project entails, students generally remain optimistic that it will prove beneficial to the on-campus community.

“I think it has a lot of amenities,” sophomore Isaiah Olivieri remarked. “Students are finally able to have more of a student life. I like that.”

“It’s going to be a really cool thing and a good, good step for Saint Peter’s if they’re going to be making a giant addition to our school,” junior Mackenzie Sylvester agreed.

Because many students currently attending SPU will have graduated when construction concludes in 2016, some have also expressed hope that the tower will prove an asset for future class years.

“We want to really make sure that people do want to come to school here,” senior Tyler Carle said. “They’re not just coming here because it’s, like, their only choice. And I think that things like this on campus or around campus are really going to attract a good student body.”

“I think it’s good for incoming students like my younger brother who will probably be here next year, who will get a chance to really enjoy that building and have that be part of their college experience,” junior Matthew Feeney agreed. “And it’s nice to see Saint Peter’s build up a more traditional college campus.”

However, some students have also expressed concerns about finding parking for their vehicles during the construction process.

Lot #1 Sign — The Armory Lot at McGinley Square is the only overnight parking lot available to students at SPU.

“It’s a little bit ridiculous to build a building that’s that high in a parking lot that we really need since we don’t have any overnight parking lots anywhere else,” junior Nikki Allegretti said.

Molson offered a similar opinion, describing the parking issue as the project’s “only downside.”

To read how University President Eugene Cornacchia and Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs Michaeal Fazio addressed these concerns, click here.

Nevertheless, despite some minor misgivings, students generally seem optimistic that the project will benefit both Saint Peter’s and Jersey City as a whole.

“I live in Jersey City, so I’ll be able to see how people react to it and how the community reacts to it,” junior Maddie Feeney said. “And I think by having college in a city…it’ll help keep the city cleaner. It’ll be kind of like a domino effect.”