The N.C. State Alumni Association is in the process of moving from its home on Pullen Road into its new facility on Centennial Campus.

The 59,000 square foot Dorothy and Roy Park Center is located at the intersection of Main Campus Drive and Alumni Drive, where it over looks Lake Raleigh.

According to Associate Executive Director Kathy Hart, Alumni Association staff members began the transition to new offices on Monday.

The process of planning the construction of the new facility has been going on for nine years.

“We had significantly outgrown the old building,” Hart said. “There was no parking access or large event space. We really could only entertain small numbers of people.”

The Park Center is the product of the association’s $20 million “Campaign for Excellence,” which was launched in 2003.

“This project was completely funded by private donors,” she said.

The new space will be multifunctional and will hold a variety of events from reunions to weddings.

Hart said the Evening of Stars and Founder’s Day will be held at the Park Center.

Student groups using the center include Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow, the Park Scholars and the Caldwell Fellows.

Cody Williams, a member of STAT’s membership committee, said he is looking forward to using the new facilities.

“It offers a lot more space, exciting features and more meeting rooms for student groups,” he said. “We’ve already started planning a lot of programs that will use the new facilities.”

The Caldwell Fellows also anticipate using their new space.

“It’s a great thing we have that space for official meetings,” Vansana Nolintha, a Caldwell Fellow and a junior in chemical engineering, said. “We are planning to have our second-year reunion there in February.”

However, the Caldwell Fellows will continue to use its office in Pullen Hall.

“Our office in Pullen is convenient for students to stop by during the day,” Nolintha said.

The Park Center will be available for private parties as well. The State Club, the organization that runs the building, is responsible for renting the building out for banquets, receptions and weddings.

Those interested in holding weddings and wedding receptions at the Park Center can contact the State Club for reservations.

According to Hart, the facilities will be officially complete in early November.

There are plans to build a large patio outside of the building that will have a tent for receptions and other events.

Hart said she is looking forward to using the new facility.

“Our alumni can visit us here,” she said.

Lennie Barton, the executive director of the Alumni Association, indicated that the new facility will be more accommodating to alumni than the current building.

“[There are] greater opportunities to serve the university and our alumni,” he said. “We don’t even have a place now for alumni to visit; we don’t even have parking. There are opportunities now for increased programming — homecoming, reunions, and all those kinds of things.”

According to Barton, the new facilities will be competitive nationally.

“I’ve traveled to some of the best alumni centers in the country. Ours by far is going to be the best in the country,” he said. “It is something for the alumni to really be proud of.”