Columbia to close Arden Conference Center

ARDEN-Columbia University announced this week that it will close its Arden Conference Center, which sits on 990 acres in the towns of Tuxedo and Woodbury overlooking the New York State Thruway, effective July 31, while it explores long-term options for the property. "The university is highly cognizant and respectful of the unique character and location of the properties," according to a press release from the office of Susan Brown, Columbia's vice president for public affairs. "Any future uses it would consider would be of a type and scale appropriate for the property. For instance, Columbia will not be exploring options that would entail large-scale development - a decision in keeping with its long-standing respect for the environmental and historic integrity of the Arden Conference Center." The Conference Center consists of two properties: • Arden House, where most of the Conference Center's facilities are located, was built by E.H. Harriman and is situated on 450 acres in the town of Woodbury. The property was given to Columbia in 1950 by W. Averell Harriman. • Arden Homestead is situated on a 540-acre property in the town of Tuxedo two miles south of Arden House. It was conveyed to the University in 1984 by the Gladys and Roland Harriman Foundation. The center, about 50 miles north of Columbia's campus in New York City, has been the host of off-site executive Business School education programs. Brown said the center was booking fewer and fewer conferences because the business is more global. Besides, she said, "The university is not in the conference-running business." More than 90 people will lose their jobs when the center closes July 1. Brown said both salaried and hourly wage staffers - some who have worked there for as many as 30 years - will be provided with severance pay and extended benefits. In discussing the future of the property, Brown emphasized the importance of acknowledging the Harriman family and its foundation "as new compatible uses for the site are explored." "I don't know all the options," she said, "but it's fair to say the university will keep it safe. When Columbia invests in properties, be it space for labs or housing, we invest for academic reasons."