Two years and $25 million later, Ithaca College has announced the opening of the Peggy Ryan William Center near the college’s entrance — the sustainable home to the college’s administrative departments and admissions.

The more than 55,000-square-foot, four-story-tall Williams Center, previously known as the Gateway Building, was originally drafted as part of the college’s 2002 Master Plan that outlined campus expansion by nearly one-third. In September 2006, the college’s Board of Trustees approved plans for the building, and it broke ground in May 2007. Original timetables for construction estimated the building could be occupied by summer or fall 2008, but several delays pushed the opening back.

Most of the funding from the building came from low-interest bonds sold through the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency and a small portion from gifts. Rick Couture, associate vice president of the Office of Facilities, said the cost of the building was “right on target.”

The center and atrium of the building maintain a feeling of openness, with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide natural light. The lobby, while still speckled with sawdust and piled with boxes and railings for the nearby stairs, is at least twice the size of the former reception area for admissions and has a 12-foot-diameter seal of the college on the floor.

The building, when finished, not only creates a new look for the entrance to campus, but brings several offices under one roof. The center will house the president and senior administrators, admissions, human resources, enrollment planning and the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies. For some of these departments, like human resources, this is the first time the whole department will be grouped together, said Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration.

“It has been a plan for literally years to try to get the major student administrative service functions all together so that now … they’re all located on the second floor of the building,” he said. “We’ve tried to create a one-stop shopping environment … for the student administrative services functions.”

Sgrecci said the building is designed with prospective students and families in mind to set the academic tone of the institution.

“You see the [college] seal with its commitment to excellence and marble floors,” he said. “It really sets the academic tone.”

Registrar Brian Scholten, whose new office overlooks Cayuga Lake and Cornell University, said the new facilities were beautiful and the move was successful.

“What was important was having a place where prospective students could come visit, feel welcome and be able to visit the various offices that they need to see,” he said.

Construction of the center included building a link between Dillingham Center and the building, connecting 10 buildings on campus, Sgrecci said. This link was the only entrance to the building when faculty and staff began to move in at the end of spring break, but the rest of the entrances opened on Monday.

Couture said one of the most important aspects of the building is its sustainable features.

Like the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, the Williams Center has a vegetative roof area to replace land taken by the building, uses rainwater harvesting to supply water to flush toilets and has motion sensors to control the lights in the building. It also uses a geothermal system to heat and cool the building, and Couture said elevators use 75 percent less energy.

Couture said the college is applying for platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, a title the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise earned after it was completed. The process will take up to 10 months but will put the college ahead of others in terms of the number of sustainable buildings, Couture said.

“We think we would be the only college in America with two LEED-certified buildings,” he said.

Couture said the center will be fully occupied within four weeks, and external landscaping will be done before the 2009 Commencement ceremony, weather permitting.

Because the Williams Center freed up space in Job Hall and the third floor of Campus Center, the college will begin renovation to these areas.

Job Hall will become the new home for Information Technology Services with a new computer room to cool the colleges computer systems and an expanded ITS help desk center, Sgrecci said. Within the month, the college will put the projects in Job Hall up to bid for contractors and a final cost will be determined.

The Student Activities Center will expand into the space on the third floor of Campus Center where the Office of Financial Aid once was, Couture said.

The college is also looking to renovate buildings across campus and make older buildings more energy efficient.

One of the final components of the Master Plan includes the construction of the college’s Athletic and Events Center, a facility Sgrecci said is a priority because it would be the only one of its kind at the college.

The college already received a bid on the facility and is waiting for approval to begin construction by the Board of Trustees in May.

Sgrecci said by putting the Athletic and Events Center up for bidding when it did, the college saved about $7 million because contractors are being more aggressive in bidding to get more work in the current economy.

“They’d be much more comfortable approving the facility knowing that the funding was in place prior to, given the uncertainties of the economy,” he said.

Sgrecci said the opening of the Williams Center and pending approval by the Board of Trustees for the Athletic and Events Center will not be the end of construction and renovation on campus.

“We’ve got a lot more to do too, but every little bit helps,” he said.