Wolfpack Chancellor Randy Woodson is likely having a great holiday season as he settles into his new pad at North Carolina State University. Construction was recently completed on the new chancellor’s residence at the school.

Known as “The Point,” the Chancellor’s new home is an 8,500 square feet behemoth. Though it sounds hulking, 5,500 of those square feet will serve as public use space, accommodating receptions as well as events for alumni and students. The downstairs area will also serve as a place for the chancellor to host events, as often as once a week, and to build relationships. It can hold up to 200 people inside or on the back patio. The remaining 3,000 square feet, all of the second floor, will be used as living quarters for the chancellor and his family.  [Still a pretty roomy living quarters, in my opinion!]

No expense was spared during the 18 month construction. Green features like geothermal heating and cooling, sustainable materials, and LED lighting were installed throughout The Point.  The house is located on North Carolina State’s Centennial Campus, near Lake Raleigh and the Park Alumni Center and is fittingly made of Wolfpack-red brick.

The Point came with a  $3.5 million price tag, which was funded entirely by private donations. When asked how the university justifies spending that much money on a house when the school is cutting jobs and eliminating courses, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Kevin MacNaughton said the house will be a hub for the university’s efforts to build relationships with private donors.

Chancellor Randy Woodson and his wife moved in Oct. 28. The first fundraiser they hosted in the new home was Nov. 16. Since, they have hosted about a half-dozen fundraising events, officials said.

The original chancellor’s residence for NC State was constructed in 1928. Back then the school had a grand total of 1,500 students in attendance. Today that number has risen to more than 34,000. With such a huge change in the student body it was about time for the chancellor himself to be movin’ on up to appropriately grand digs. Thankfully, the original residence won’t be torn down. Instead, plans have been drawn to convert it into the future home of the university’s Gregg Museum.

If you’d like to drool over photos of Woodson’s new home click here.  Be warned, however, that doing so could cause you to turn green with envy.

Source: “Construction complete on NCSU chancellor’s residence,” by Jason deBruyn.  Photo:  NCSUnewsdept via Creative Commons license.

What do you think of the new residence?  Thoughts, comments, or questions?  Post in the comment section, below.