Hofstra Medical School Begins Major Expansion

The Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine started a new, 65,000-square-foot expansion that will more than double the size of the school just two years after enrolling its first students.

“We began with a very important mission in this historic facility that once housed the New York Jets, and now we are making history once again as we continue to grow, innovate and more fully serve the national need,” Founding Dean Dr. Lawrence G. Smith said. 

The first floor of the building will feature a 241-person auditorium, a 7,000-square-foot structure lab, a large, divisible multi-purpose room with the capacity to seat 90 people and a large events space. The second floor will include the Dean’s suite, a faculty suite and offices and 12 additional small-group classrooms.

The estimated cost of the project is $35.9 million, $14.5 million of which is provided through $25 million in New York State Economic State Development Corporation grants secured by Hofstra University in 2008.

A portion of the 2008 grants were used to renovate the medical school’s facility in 2010. The $21.4 million balance for the new construction will be financed through bonds issued by the Town of Hempstead Local Development Corporation.

The school opened in 2008, becoming the first new medical school in the New York metropolitan area in more than 35 years. It has grown from 40 students to 180 and this year it received 5,500 applicants for 80 openings.

“Three years ago, we stood together in this building to celebrate the beginning of a new era, ” Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz said. “Now, as we break ground on this new addition, we celebrate how far we’ve come together towards our goal of training a new generation of doctors who will improve health care on Long Island and in New York state for decades to come.”

The project is estimated to be completed in January 2015.