Campus tackles major construction during summer months

Summer is prime time for tackling construction projects so it’s not surprising that Binghamton University is undergoing a series of projects this summer.

One of the most visible – the Smart Energy Building at the Innovative Technologies Complex – will open in August after three years of construction. The $70 million, 114,000-square-foot facility will house the chemistry and physics departments, which are starting to occupy the building.

At the Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City, construction of the $60 million, 84,000-square-foot, four-story School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences building continues.

“The building will house the pharmacy faculty and also have labs and other facilities and classroom spaces to conduct research. There will be wet labs, dry labs, compounding labs and all kinds of specialized equipment,” said Karen Fennie Physical Facilities communications specialist. Though the inaugural class of pharmacy students begins in August, the building in Johnson City will open its doors to students in fall 2018.

The eight-acre Health Sciences Campus will also include the Decker School of Nursing, slated to move in 2020 to a 90,000-square-foot renovated former Endicott Johnson shoebox factory at 48 Corliss Ave. adjacent to the pharmacy building. Design of the interior space is being finalized.

Back on the Vestal campus, work on the east half of Science 4 is well underway. “Science 4 was constructed in the 1970s,” Fennie said. “The Psychology Department works out of the building with faculty offices and labs so we wanted to upgrade their facilities. We couldn’t take the entire building offline so we’re renovating the east half now and we’ll do the west side when we get the funding.

“We’re building new labs and faculty offices and upgrading all the lighting and windows. The entire building is going to look different and will be re-clad with metal panels,” she said. This project is scheduled to wrap up in July 2018.

Residence halls are also undergoing upgrades. As renovations to Cayuga Hall conclude and it’s prepared for students to occupy in August, Seneca Hall construction has begun and is slated for completion in time for the fall 2018 semester. “These projects are considered critical maintenance,” said Fennie, who defined critical maintenance as replacing and renovating building systems such as plumbing, electrical work, window repair and exterior repair or replacement.

“We’re going through a lot of the older residential halls, building by building, one per year, and upgrading them,” said Fennie. “The needs of a building change over time and a lot of these buildings haven’t been touched in years. In a way, it’s preventative maintenance, because the systems will fail if we don’t get in there and upgrade the electric, HVAC and mechanical equipment.”

Work to improve pedestrian safety is underway at the West Gym and will be complete before the fall semester starts. Previously, pedestrians exiting the West Gym were forced into the roadway. “The walkway ended and there was no sidewalk to take them anywhere,” Fennie said. “The new walkway will realign the way pedestrians exit and enter the West Gym so that it’s safer and clearer on where to go.”

Sidewalk improvements are also being made around campus. “It’s the same way with building systems,” said Fennie. “You have a walkway that’s in place for many years and it eventually begins crumbling and creating safety issues with people tripping, so we’re doing a number of these projects around campus this summer,” she said. “Right now, if you went between Academic A and Academic B – which is a heavily used pedestrian pathway – you’ll see, it’s all ripped up. We’re replacing that area and a section of the Peace Quad, too.”

The addition of a new 300-space parking lot remains in the works, though delayed several weeks while funding was worked out. The lot will be located on campus behind the Information Booth and is slated for completion during the fall semester.

The Binghamton University Bookstore is also getting a facelift: The textbooks will be downstairs, with the retail merchandise upstairs.

“We’re also adding some square footage to the east side of the University Union for a Dunkin’ Donuts,” Fennie said, “which will be located across from the Admissions Center in the space where Café Tillman used to be.”