Campus Upgrades Continue
Several renovation and expansion projects at UAlbany are slated for completion during 2016-17. Work is scheduled to conclude next spring on the $62 million Campus Center renovation and expansion project. The first-phase 10,000-square-foot dining and kitchen East Addition was completed last September; the 66,000-square-foot addition on the west side is currently under construction.
The West Addition will include a 400-seat auditorium; conference spaces; new offices for student government and student groups; and recreation and lounge areas. The existing Campus Center area, on the ground floor between the additions, is also being renovated. Slated to open the same time as the West Addition, it will be largely devoted to a transformed dining experience. In all, 12 new retail food options, including a Starbucks; a Vietnamese restaurant (from celebrity chef Mai Pham); Simple Servings, which prepares foods without ingredients that can trigger allergies; and Tully’s will be available to the University community.
The largest project currently under way is the $180 million construction of the 236,000-square-foot Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (E-TEC) on 12 acres at the southwest corner of the Harriman Campus, adjacent to UAlbany’s uptown campus. Design is in progress; ground will be broken in 2017. When it opens in 2020-21, E-TEC – the cornerstone of the University’s NYSUNY2020 initiative – will house the new College of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness and Cybersecurity (CHEC); the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (ASRC); and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, helping to synergize and advance the University’s renowned level of research and instruction in these areas. Other weather researchers and private partners, classrooms, the Department of Physics, and business and tech-transfer operations will also occupy the building.
The former Health Center (Building 25), currently being renovated, will be completed in mid-2017. The departments of Africana Studies and Economics will relocate to this building, allowing for renovation of the Business Administration building on the Academic Podium to begin next summer.
The Schuyler Building (the former Albany High School) on the downtown campus is currently in design for a complete renovation. It will serve as the home of the University’s new College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS).
Other projects in progress or set to commence soon include:
- renovation of Dutch Quad’s Beverwyck and Schuyler halls, along with the transformation of the kitchen and dining areas, which will house the University’s health and wellness services
- renovations and upgrades to the entire Lecture Center complex, including instructional spaces
- restoration and repair of brick and cornice building exteriors on the downtown campus
- upgrades of bathrooms throughout the uptown and downtown campuses
- upgrade and replacement of seating and finishes in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) main theater
Additional information related to development and construction activity at the University can be accessed online at www.albany.edu/facilities.