A New Residence for Graduate and Medical Students

The new residence (above) will provide a modern living space that offers students ways to encounter and collaborate with their peers. It will feature communal spaces such as study nooks, meeting rooms, a fitness center, yoga and music rooms, a student lounge with access to an outdoor garden, a multipurpose activity court and a rooftop lounge with an adjoining terrace (photos below).

Weill Cornell Medicine is constructing a modern new student residence that, when it opens in 2025, will expand the scope of the institution’s Upper East Side campus and nearly double the existing student residential living space.

The new $260 million, 16-story, 173,000-square-foot residence is located on the northwest corner of East 74th Street and York Avenue, four blocks from Weill Cornell Medicine’s existing campus. The light-filled, eco-friendly building will house 272 students and feature 163 studios, seven one-bedrooms and 51 two-bedroom apartments, all equipped with a full kitchen. The residence hall will also include several spaces for study, collaboration, recreation, fitness and socialization.

“We’re building what will be one of the best student residences anywhere in this country,” says Dr. Robert A. Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University. “Importantly, this new residence will both support our students’ academic life here and instill a lifelong emphasis on taking care of their overall wellness. The future of Weill Cornell Medicine is bright.”

The residence hall is made possible by the extraordinary generosity of Weill Cornell Medicine’s donors — including significant gifts from We’re Changing Medicine campaign co-chairs Jeffrey Feil and Sanford I. Weill and their families, other long-time donors and the institution’s alumni — who collectively contributed $122 million toward its construction. 

The building is a centerpiece of Weill Cornell Medicine’s suite of initiatives to enhance the student experience. To help more students realize their educational aspirations, Weill Cornell Medicine in 2019 expanded its scholarship program to eliminate educational debt for medical students who qualify for financial aid. That same year, the institution opened the Feil Family Student Center, a 16,200-square-foot campus space that expanded facilities for classes, meetings, quiet study and informal gatherings.

“With the We’re Changing Medicine campaign, we’re transforming the entire student experience — and the new student residence is a key component of our vision for the future,” says Weill Cornell Medicine Board of Fellows Chair Jessica M. Bibliowicz. “This is an enormous undertaking, and we are grateful to our campaign co-chairs Jeffrey Feil and Sandy Weill, as well as our dedicated donors. Their investment in the wellness of our future doctors and scientists will change patients’ lives.”