Campus wide construction delayed by late state budget

While New York State lawmakers deliberated over finalizing a state budget throughout the summer, construction projects at the University at Albany watched as suns rose and fell, waiting for a chance to begin.

Since several construction projects on UAlbany's campus are funded directly by a state construction grant, the university relies heavily on New York State's finances to be in order for renovations to be done. The school has received $33 million a year from this in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

One of the most noticeable projects was the Campus Center lobby renovation project.

According to Scott Birge, the assistant director of the Student Union, this project was most likely to be completed by the middle or end of November.  Now it is looking at an end date in January, just before the start of the spring 2011 semester.

 Birge said that the new Campus Center will have a completely different feel from the old one.

"It is going to be a nice, bright, open front door to the Campus Center," he said.

The entire color scheme of the lobby will be changed to try and provide visitors with a warmer feel as they enter. The doors themselves are being replaced and will be wider and better functioning, as Vice President of Facilities Management John Giarrusso described.

The new lobby will come at a price other than the $900,000 the renovation will cost. The entire lobby area is shut down, with makeshift doors leading to the Student Association and other important sections of the lobby.

"It certainly is a hassle," said Giarrusso. In order to access the dining areas of campus, students and faculty alike will have to enter through one of the doors below by the bookstore or through a neighboring building, such as the Education building.

The Campus Center ballroom and the Assembly Hall will also be out of commission through construction. Birge said that other areas of the school, such as large lecture centers will have to be used for events that normally would have been held in one of the two rooms. Some events may even be moved off campus.

The rest of the Campus Center is expected to be renovated as well over the next several years, costing around $75 million total.

Moves are starting to be made on the new Business School building near Collins Circle that should be ready to go by fall 2013. The initial stage of the development, which is relocating the visitor's parking lot in order to clear space for the $3.5 million building, is projected to be done by the middle of November.

Along with the new building, Collins Circle will face some changes as a new bus stop will be created in lieu of the current, old one.

Dutch Quad also saw some improvements this summer. According to Giarrusso, the utilities underneath Dutch were deteriorating and needed replacement. Since they had to fix those anyway, Giarrusso said they figured they would redo the look of the Quad as well.

All of the trees on the Quad were replaced, a trend they want to continue with the rest of the school, which Giarrusso described as a monoculture of trees.

"Most of the pine trees were diseased," said Giarrusso.

The University wants to replace the diseased trees and fill the campus with more than its trademark pines, making it more biodiverse.

Construction on the new dorms by Indian Lake has begun as well. This project, which will create 500 new suites with four bedrooms and two baths along with a furnished living room and kitchen, is slated for completion in fall 2012.

The construction of the new State Quad dining hall was not affected by the budget delay and finished right on time. The construction of the dining hall as well as the renovation of the connecting Whitman low-rise cost a grand total of $9.5 million.