Arden Conference Center
The Arden Conference Center was a conference center owned by Columbia in Orange County, NY from 1950 to 2007. The property consisted of Arden House, the estate of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, and the attached Arden Homestead, the country home of his son E. Roland Harriman.
W. Averell Harriman donated the Arden House estate to Columbia University in 1950 in honor of his parents, and the estate of Roland Harriman donated the Homestead property to the university in 1984.
The property was used as a conference center open for rental by outside groups, and housed the American Assembly, and the Business School's Executive Education program, as well as retreats by various university groups. Columbia maintained the properties as its 'Conference Estates' until July 31, 2005, when the Arden Conference Center ceased operations. It was sold to the Open Space Institute in 2007, which maintains it as preservation land.
In 2007, Columbia sold Arden House to the Open Space Institute, and the Homestead to a private buyer who bought for use as a family residence.[1]
