University to build new law, nursing facilities

The University has announced plans to construct a new school of Law and a new College of Nursing. Although several offsite options were initially considered, both buildings will be on campus. The new law school building will be located in the parking lot adjacent to the current law school building, Garey Hall. The new nursing building will be located above the St. Augustine Center parking deck on main campus. The decision to put both buildings on campus followed the Radnor Township's Planning Commission's tabling of the original plan the University submitted to them, according to The Suburban and Wayne Times. That proposal called for the construction of 170,000 square-foot law school building and parking areas near the Villanova Conference Center on Matsonford Road. The nursing school would have moved into Garey Hall. But the board was less than enthusiastic. "They had a difficult site - steep slopes, highly wooded - when in fact on campus they have an abundance of available land," Planning Commission chair Al Murphy told the Times. The University could tender their new plan to the Zoning Hearing board as early as December. The construction of the two buildings will operate on separate schedules. Representatives for the University's Facilities Management office and the School of Law could not be reached for comment.