The New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) announced the recipients of its Summer 2025 Higher Education Capital Facilities Programs Grants, on Jan. 8. Where 92 projects across 23 colleges were subsidized to “address deferred maintenance, enhance campus safety and upgrade student facilities.”
The seven project proposals that received grants from Montclair State cover a variety of maintenance costs, from HVAC repairs to accessibility renovations on the Bloomfield campus. The university has not confirmed a timeline for when construction is scheduled to begin for the funded projects.
The largest grant received by Montclair State, which allocated $9.075 million to the university’s budget, suggests heating and air conditioning improvements to Sprague Library. The proposal specifically calls for “the installation of an outdoor grade AHU to serve the core building, installation of new RTUs with CHW coils to serve the north wing, and installation of a new AHU in the basement mechanical room with dual DX/CHW cooling coils and HW heating coil.”
The project calls for upgrades to the buildings heating and air conditioning units, replacing older equipment with technology better equipped to service the large building. The roof of Sprague Library was also granted $1 million in funds for repairs.
Montclair State also received a sizable grant of $4.825 million for the installation of a new campus-wide electrical distribution system. The old network, which was serviced by an underground duct system originally built in the 1960s, was last upgraded in 2000. However, campus-wide power outages have persisted, according to the proposal.
Two of the university’s funded projects were among the 41 that received Capital Improvement Fund (CIF) funding, which accounts for “cost of renewal, renovation, improvement, expansion, construction and reconstruction of facilities and technology infrastructure.”
The other five were among the 53 that were subsidized through the Higher Education Facilities Trust Fund (HEFT), which funds “the construction, reconstruction, development, extension and improvement of instructional, laboratory, communication, and research facilities.”
OSHE’s $244.4 million capital grant program, which was approved by Governor Phil Murphy in January, was a part of a years-long effort by the Murphy administration to fund higher education.
In 2021, $46 million was granted for upgrades at county colleges across the state. In 2023, nearly $400 million was allocated for higher education in New Jersey. In total, Montclair State received $20 million across seven projects for this grant program.
The summer 2025 grant cycle, in particular, was aimed at deferred maintenance projects, which explains the university’s urgency to renovate or restore outdated infrastructure items. Deferred maintenance refers to necessary repairs which have previously been postponed or shelved due to budget constraints or other delays.
Sheryl Stitt, executive director of the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority spoke in a statement following the approval of the grants.
“Preserving, maintaining and reimagining college campuses across the state has helped New Jersey maintain its role as a leader in higher education,” Stitt said. “With deferred maintenance needs in higher education growing exponentially across the country, this investment will have a meaningful impact on the state’s higher education environments where our students and faculty live, learn, and work every day.”
Although the repairs may fly under the radar for many Montclair students, the grant signals the university’s high standing in the state and priority in receiving necessary federal funding. The $244 million in grants represent a consistent commitment by the state to improve higher education infrastructure in a state that consistently ranks among the best in the country for education.
