Rowan University Foundation has purchased a $925,000 house in Mullica Hill for President Ali Houshmand.
HARRISON TWP. -- Rowan University President Ali Houshmand will soon be moving to a 5,700-square-foot Mullica Hill house recently purchased by the Rowan University Foundation.
Rowan's last president lived in a large house in Woodbury called Rugby Pines but when Houshmand took over the position in 2011 the university decided to downsize and he and his wife moved into a $316,000 house in a 55+ community on Merganser Court in Glassboro.
While the 3,300-square-foot house has been adequate for living arrangements, it has proven not to be sufficient for the many events he has to host in his position, according to Rowan University spokesman Joe Cardona.
"It's not meeting the needs of the president," he said. "We're filling up the streets with parking. It's not a good situation for the neighbors."
As the president of a university, Houshmand often has to entertain "donors, friends of the university and employees," he added. This requires more space, both inside and outside the home, as well as ample parking space in the vicinity.
After searching for a suitable place in Glassboro and looking into building something new that would be a balance between the Woodbury mansion and the president's current accommodations, the University Foundation decided to purchase the $925,000 home in Mullica Hill.
"The Foundation Board spent a lot of time looking at what we can do in Glassboro but there's just not a house that has the right mix of things that the president needs," Cardona said. "We looked if we could build something, but to build something would far exceed the price of the house we bought."
The new house sits on 1.43 acres on Bailey Road. It has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as spacious common areas and a large backyard.
It was purchased on Dec. 17, 2015, by the Foundation and Houshmand is expected to move in within a few weeks.
Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.