UB unveils The Landing at Ellicott

UB on Tuesday celebrated its second grand opening in less than a week, officially unveiling its redesigned Fargo Quad as both a “front door” to the Ellicott Complex and an inviting, comfortable gathering space for residential students.

“I love it,” said Jordan Chen, a senior and resident assistant. “It’s vibrant and very open. There’s TVs around here. There are couches. There’s a little hockey table upstairs. It’s just a great area for people to study, talk and have fun.”

Known as The Landing at Ellicott, the two-story project began in spring 2023 and was completed last fall using a combination of new construction and renovation of Fargo to make more use of the Ellicott Terrace.

The first floor includes waiting, welcome and reception areas; student lounges; a conference room; a courtyard patio; a video wall; small privacy booths for studying; a tour room showcasing a typical room in the residence halls; and a cascading “social stair” that leads to the second floor.

The second floor includes more lounge space and offices for housing services and residential life.

“It’s awesome,” said Isiah Diallo, a first-year student living in Ellicott. “It’s a nice place to unwind, to study. I was just sitting over there with my shoes off brainstorming ideas.”

Tuesday’s ceremonial ribbon-cutting and open house at The Landing came less than a week after the grand re-opening of the newly renovated Student Union on Jan. 15.

“Much like that celebration and that renovation, our motivation for The Landing at Ellicott is to transform the UB student experience,” President Satish K. Tripathi said during the event.

“In keeping with our master plan, every aspect of UB’s physical environment must support our students’ personal development and academic goals,” Tripathi said.

Creating a homey, modern living environment goes hand in hand with the student experience and their academic success, he said.

“This major enhancement to the Ellicott Complex exemplifies our commitment to keep our students at the heart of everything we do,” Tripathi said.

Also speaking at Tuesday’s event were Madigan Howard, residence hall director in residential life; Madison Nitsche, president of the Residence Hall Association; and Brian Hamluk, vice president for student life.

Hamluk recognized the many individuals involved in bringing the project to fruition and thanked Tripathi for his commitment to investing in the student experience in recent years.

He noted the opening of One World Café, a new Student Health Services center, a major makeover to the Student Union and now, The Landing.

“With nearly 7,500 residents on campus, it is clear that the residential experience contributes significantly to the vibrant student life that we have,” Hamluk said.

“It’s a place where our students build community,” he said. “They live together in the halls. They learn from each other. They support each other. They forge relationships that help define their University at Buffalo experience.”

Serving as the front door to the residential complex, The Landing also will play an important role in helping navigate through the maze that can be Ellicott. Tripathi light-heartedly noted how the complex can be tricky to traverse for both visitors and students alike.

“If you have ever considered using breadcrumbs to find your way out of the Ellicott Complex you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Tripathi cracked.

“In fact,” he joked, “the saying is people take longer to graduate because they get lost here.”