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Syracuse University has completed several of its on-campus summer construction efforts, including the JMA Wireless Dome reseating project, according to an August 15 campus-wide email from SU Vice President and Chief Campus Facilities Officer Pete Sala.

The Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction will also continue ongoing projects throughout the fall 2024 semester, Sala wrote. A majority of these efforts aim to modernize and improve on-campus facilities.

The Daily Orange has outlined the key construction projects SU completed over the summer.

Strategic Housing Plan

Second-year students moved into the newly-established Milton Hall, formerly The Marshall apartment complex, and Orange Hall, formerly the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center. The creation of both residence halls was announced in fall 2023. This year, Milton Hall and Orange Hall are housing second-year students.

Modifications and renovations this summer transformed the facilities into “vibrant, modern residence halls,” with air conditioning, floor lounges, laundry, private bathrooms and study rooms, according to the email.

The university also completed renovations to the bathrooms in Watson Hall. The hall, which previously included communal bathroom facilities, now has accessible, pod-style bathrooms. Construction began in May 2023.

These projects are part of SU’s strategic housing plan that was created after a three-year housing review found a need for more Main Campus university housing options.

Dome conversion

The conversion of bench seating to chairback seating in the JMA Wireless Dome is nearly complete, according to the email. The project will be finished in time for SU’s first home football game against Ohio University on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The Miron Victory Court, an enclosed concourse built to connect the Dome to the Barnes Center at The Arch, is also set to be completed later this fall. The project was facilitated by a $7 million gift in 2019 from Life Trustee Robert J. Miron and his wife Diane.

The completion of the court will mark the end of “phase two” of the Dome Transformation Project, which included both the seat conversions and the Victory Court. The project is one component of the broader Campus Framework plan, a “visionary roadmap” unveiled in 2017 to guide campus planning for the next 20 years.

Esports gaming facility

Construction of the 5,600-square-foot esports facility will be completed in September, according to the email. The facility, located in the Schine Student Center, will include virtual reality gaming, 35 gaming consoles, traditional analog gaming areas and a 10-person stage for competitions.

SU announced it would increase investment into esports in 2023, with hopes to mark SU as a leader in esports education. The esports communication and management major began enrolling students for the fall 2024 semester. Construction of the facility has been underway since August 2023.

South Campus

A new recreation field on South Campus is nearing completion, Sala’s email states. The new field will be adjacent to the SU Athletics Skytop Field and will be regulation size for rugby and soccer.

Faculty in the School of Architecture also renovated two South Campus apartment buildings over the summer, according to the email. The apartments now contain high-efficiency heat pumps and highly insulated materials used to reduce energy usage.

A team of architecture students began the project, which hopes to retrofit existing homes to better withstand cold temperatures, after being awarded $5 million from the United States Department of Energy in 2022.

“The project utilized existing campus space with a goal of demonstrating cost-effective ways to retrofit multifamily housing in cold climates,” the email states.

STEM facilities

Work on Link Hall, which houses the College of Engineering and Computer Science, continued throughout the summer. The university completed renovations to the hall’s interior lobby and added new entries to its ground floor.

Work on the Allyn Innovation Center in Link — created in 2018 following a $2.28 million gift — is “coming to a close” this fall, the email states. The university also plans to finalize office renovations within the center later this fall.

Plans to establish a new Quantum Technology Center in the Physics Building are currently underway. A floor will be renovated for modern research laboratories and will be completed next fall, according to Sala’s email.

Accessibility

Several projects to increase SU’s accessibility across campus were completed over the summer, including a new elevator at Syracuse Stage, accessible bathrooms in Orange and Milton Halls and a fully accessible interior lobby in Link Hall, according to the email.

SU also upgraded the facilities used for the university’s study away programs in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The facilities have been designed and built according to the same standards applied on campus, the email said.

Additional improvements

• SU completed renovation at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, which contains professional studio facilities used by the School of Design. The Warehouse renovations include new air conditioning, studio spaces and improvements to learning environments, the email states.
• The Marley Education Center now has an academic office suite open for the new esports academic program.
• With the relocation of the psychology department to Marley, the university will finish its plan to consolidate research facilities later this fall.

Published on August 25, 2024 at 10:08 pm

Contact Delia: dsrangel@syr.edu