N.Y. Penn Club to open June 15

The $25 million Penn Club of New York will finally open its doors to its members June 15, after several years of planning. The Club will be located on Manhattan's Clubhouse Row -- alongside clubs from Harvard University, Yale University and Cornell University -- in a restored historic building on West 44th Street. Approximately 8,200 University alumni have already signed on as Charter Members, according to Membership Marketing Manager and 1989 College graduate Rachel Spasser. Each member pays from $40 to $860 in annual membership dues, depending on his or her age and hometown. The dues go back into the operating fund of the Club, since "it is its own center," said MH Flick of Capelin Communications, the public relations company for the Club. Spasser said the Penn Club purposely made the membership dues less expensive for recent alumni, in order to attract a younger crowd. "[We wanted] to encourage younger alumni who may not be able to afford a private club in New York City to join, so that we have a legacy for the future of the young people," she said. "We wanted to make it accessible to as many people as possible." Alumni who live in vicinities closer to New York City will have to pay higher dues, under the assumption they will utilize the Club more often, Spasser added. Membership entitles alumni and friends to dining at the Grill Room, the President's Dining Room or Provost's Dining Room, use of the building's health club called "The Palestra," access to one of 39 suites, and use of the many meeting and conference rooms. The suites, Spasser said, can be rented out for $140 per night during the week, and $99 per night on weekends. The rooms are "beautifully decorated," she added, with all of the necessary amenities -- mahogany furniture, TV and VCR, two-line telephones with modem, fax and voicemail capabilities and a private bath. While the grand opening of the Penn Club will be June 15, the Club has already celebrated several pre-openings. Four founders and donors celebrations took place last week, and the Classes of the '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s, kicked off the first of several members celebrations last night. The Club, which has existed since the turn of the century, was virtually invisible in modern history until University Trustees Chairperson Alvin Shoemaker decided to rebuild it "to create a legacy for the young alums." The Club will be formally headed by Club President Lynne Tarnopol, a 1960 College and Wharton graduate.