[1] In the four decades since Gunster had been constructed in 1960, the University of Scranton, as University President Father Pilarz said, “has evolved into a broadly regional, comprehensive institution with students coming from more than 30 states and more than 35 countries," and thus “has simply outgrown the 77,000 square foot Gunster Center, which was built for a time when only 228 of our total student enrollment of 2,300 lived on campus.”[2] The DeNaples Center is a four-story building located on the 900 block of Mulberry Street in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The first floor of the building includes a grand lobby, the campus bookstore, the student mail center, commuter lockers, a Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.)
[4] The DeNaples Center was the first building on campus designed and constructed to achieve the LEED certification as part of the University’s Sustainability initiatives, which it received in February 2009.
[5] Some environmentally friendly highlights of the DeNaples Center include reduced light pollution, a drip irrigation system, and optimized energy performance.
The building also features products with recycled content, daylight harvesting, occupancy sensors for lighting control, water-saving fixtures, and a kitchen ventilation system that monitors heat and smoke and will adjust ventilation requirements according to need and not merely according to building occupancy schedule.