About 75 Middlebury staff members are in the new building.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – For the first time in nearly 30 years, Middlebury’s Office of Advancement is working together under one roof. Last week 65 advancement staff moved into their long awaited new home at 700 Exchange Street. As they unpacked boxes, set up their desks and found new homes for their plants, there was an unmistakable sense of excitement.

“It’s wonderful to have everyone together,” said Vice President for Advancement Jim Keyes ’71. “We had staff spread across three different buildings in Middlebury and it made collaboration a challenge at times. Now we won’t have to put on a coat or get in a car to see each other.”

Middlebury leased the 22,000-square-foot building in the spring and completed the renovation just in time for the move. With glass-walled offices, large workstations, numerous skylights, and all new furnishings, the look of the space is sleek and modern.

The building is also home to about a dozen staff from Information Technology Services, along with the offices of the Davis United World College Scholars Program.

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The Exchange Street moves are the most visible, but far from the only changes occurring on and around the Middlebury campus. The same week, staff from Grants and Sponsored Research moved into Davis Family Library and the Business Services Office moved from 161 Adirondack View to 152 Maple Street in the Marble Works. In addition, various spaces occupied by Media Services and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research within the library were regrouped.

Next week, members of the Controller’s Office and the Payroll Department also will move to 152 Maple Street. In October and November, the Human Resources staff will move to 152 Maple Street from the Service Building, and the Student Employment Office will shift to 161 Adirondack View.

The office moves are part of a multiphase plan designed to improve coordination of administrative functions, provide space for student services in the core of campus, and make room for enhanced faculty and student interaction, especially in the Davis Family Library.

A new shuttle service now connects the staff at 700 Exchange Street with the main campus a short distance away. The service started on September 10 with a seven-passenger van. It operates from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. five days a week with pickups occurring every 55 minutes at 700 Exchange Street, 161 Maple Street, Painter House, Adirondack Circle, and Old Chapel.

Middlebury hired SAS Architects to redesign the interior spaces at 700 Exchange Street and increase its functionality and energy efficiency. Middlebury’s general contractor started work on the renovations in March 2014 and completed the project, except for minor touch-ups, by Labor Day.

In addition to the glass-fronted offices and skylights, the building features LED lighting, high open ceilings, a kitchen and break room, and wide hallways. The heating, cooling, and ventilation systems were brought up to Middlebury’s standards for efficiency and energy recovery, and the building is networked into the existing computer-controlled building management system.

Also as part of the project, Middlebury ran fiber-optic cable from the campus to the new location. The fiber-optic connection is essential for handling ITS’s data needs.