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WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY PURCHASES FORMER UNION CAMP HEADQUARTERS IN WAYNE FROM INTERNATIONAL PAPER TO ACCOMMODATE ACADEMIC GROWTH -- Building Will House College of Business (Wayne, N.J., July 25, 2000) William Paterson University has purchased the former Union Camp Corporation headquarters in Wayne from International Paper to enable the University to expand its available classroom and office space and continue its development as a major regional university. The two institutions closed the deal today. The University and International Paper agreed to a $9.5 million acquisition price for the 150,000-square-foot building on 50 acres at 1600 Valley Road, 1.5 miles from William Paterson's campus. The University plans to convert the interior of the building into an academic facility with related office space. The estimated cost of the renovation is expected to be $20 million. The University will float a bond and will use existing funds to finance the purchase and renovations. "This is a major step in William Paterson University's growth as northern New Jersey's hub for higher education," said University President Arnold Speert. "We anticipate a steady period of growth in terms of our number of students and the sophistication of our programs and we do not want our academic impact to be limited by the size of our campus." The University plans for the building to house the College of Business and classes offered by William Paterson's Center for Continuing Education and Distance Learning (CEDL) and other academic units. "When we learned of the availability of this building, we determined that this would be the most cost-effective and efficient solution to our short- and long-term needs for additional space," President Speert said. "In particular, this purchase will allow us to accommodate the ongoing development of our College of Business." Previously, the University had considered constructing a new building on campus for the College of Business and a parking garage that would replace parking spaces eliminated by the building construction. The construction of the building and parking garage, President Speert said, would have been more expensive than purchasing and renovating International Paper's building. On-campus parking is expected to remain at current levels with the International Paper property accommodating 600 parking spaces. President Speert said that a shuttle bus service will connect the property to the University's main campus. President Speert said he expects the University to begin moving to the building no later than the fall of 2002. The four-story building is located on a wooded lot adjacent to a pond. It was constructed in 1969 as the headquarters of Union Camp Corporation. Union Camp, a manufacturer of paper, packaging, chemicals and wood products, merged with International Paper in 1999. International Paper (www.internationalpaper.com)
is the world's largest paper and forest products company. Businesses
include printing papers, packaging, building materials, chemical
products and distribution. As one of the largest private forest
landowners in the world, the company manages its forests under
the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFIsm
) program, a system that ensures the perpetual growing and harvesting
of trees while protecting wildlife, plants, soil, air and water
quality. Headquartered in the United States at Purchase, N.Y.,
International Paper has operations in nearly 50 countries, employs
more than 117,000 people and exports its products to more than
130 nations. ###
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