Campus Center West Opening Soon  

Campus Center West Addition.

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 4, 2017) – The Campus Center West addition will be “pretty spectacular” when it opens at the end of the semester.

That’s the word according to Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration John Giarrusso, who gave three presentations on the status of campus construction projects.

“The intent from Day One has been to right-size the student union to today’s enrollment,” Giarrusso said. “It will be a game-changer when it opens.”

New features include 10 new food venues, a Starbucks, glassed-in “bean and pod” conference rooms, and offices for Student Affairs, Student Association and student groups. The second floor has a dance practice studio and large conference/board room.

With Dutch Quad kitchen and dining hall closing at the end of this semester, the new capacity in the Campus Center will offer more varied dining options for those students.

The Bagatelle Courtyard between the Campus Center and the Science Library should be finished around the same time as Commencement, with more seating and enhanced landscaping for casual gatherings and programmed functions.

Campus Center renovation space.

The Campus Center West addition is among 200 projects being tracked at any given time. Giarrusso noted the University has $500 million in current projects, all largely following the larger renovation and upgrade vision outlined in the 2012 Facilities Master Plan. $15.6 million has been provided in the enacted 2017-2018 State Budget for academic construction and renovation projects.

Included among the many ongoing projects and moves are:

Building 27 (formerly the Business Administration building)

Renovation of the old BA will start late this summer. When completed in early 2020, it will house the School of Education and the Department of Economics. The building will be upgraded with modern amenities that will provide renovated instructional, office, research and support spaces with more daylight and improved seating and lounge space.

Preparing for this renovation involves the relocation of multiple departments and units. The Department of Africana Studies and the Department of Economics will be moving out of Building 27 into Building 25 (the former Health Center) in early summer. Building 25 has been under renovation since 2015 and, when opened next month, will provide new office, classroom and support spaces.

The mail room and Rapid Copy will be moved out of building 27 into a temporary trailer facility on the east side of Social Sciences. These functions will move back into Building 27 in 2020 when the renovation is complete.

Parking Management and Mass Transit Services

Parking Management will move permanently to a new building next to Building 25 in early summer. The new space is better configured for the volume of customer interactions, and will be easier to find (off Tricentennial Drive) than the existing trailer behind the Physics Building.

Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex

Some $184 million is earmarked for the new E-TEC building, which will be located on 12 acres of land on the southwest corner of the Harriman campus, in the jurisdiction of the University, not far from the Boor Sculpture Studio. Site construction has begun with phased occupancy set for late 2020.

E-TEC will be the home of the new College of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness and Cybersecurity. It will also house the Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences, the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, the Department of Physics, and portions of Chemistry, as well as the Small Business Development Center and business development functions of the Division for Research’s technology transfer function.

While the E-TEC building will be within walking distance from other buildings on campus, Giarrusso said that transit and shuttle services, including CDTA buses, will be available.

Other Projects and Moves

• Storm water remediation at Alumni Quad will occur this summer to address past flooding problems. Major upgrades are planned for the buildings at Alumni Quad in the future, and last week the planning process kicked off with the advertisement for RFP for design proposals.
• Herkimer Hall on Colonial Quad is currently being renovated with an opening planned for this summer.
• Continued work on residential tower restoration will be occurring this summer on Livingston Tower on Colonial Quad.
• The Library basement will be renovated for Writing and Critical Inquiry’s move from Building 27.

Campus construction and project information can be found on the Facilities website: https://www.albany.edu/facilities.

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