Manhattan’s Pace University has announced plans for a major expansion starting this summer.

Today the university unveiled a three-phase expansion plan for its lower Manhattan campus. Responding to increasing enrollment, the $190 million plan will reinvigorate academic and common areas at the school’s two main academic buildings. New York’s FXFOWLE is the design architect.

“Our goal was to create a master plan that matches the clarity and aspirations of Opportunitas: Embracing the Future [Pace’s plan],” explained FXFOWLE senior partner Sylvia Smith, in a statement. “The plan responds to the needs of today’s learners, fosters an increased sense of community, and encourages engagement. We focused on student-centric solutions to activate, reveal and connect spaces and places at Pace.”

Phase One channels $45 million into reviving more than 55,000 square feet of space at One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row, right near City Hall. Improvements will target One Pace Plaza’s courtyard entrance, first, and then lower levels, adding a welcome center, new student center, learning commons, and quiet study areas. At (former New York Times building) 41 Park Row, the original entrance along Spruce Street will be restored, and FXFOWLE’s work will add an art gallery and another student commons. 

The school’s 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students take classes in the performing arts and liberal arts, business, science, and tech in Manhattan and at a Westchester County campus.

Construction on Phase One is expected to wrap in fall 2018.