With classes for the new academic year about to start, the Facilities team and local contractors are working to get the Siena campus ready for move in.
The foundation for Nobel Hall, our new science building, has been dug. Construction will continue through the end of 2024 with plans to have the state-of-the-art facility operational by 2025. In the meantime, progress will require some disruptions. Please be thoughtful when driving near the science complex on the north side of campus to avoid detours and congestion. A project of this scope will require patience, but the payoff will be worth any temporary inconvenience!
Next for Nobel Hall, the concrete foundation will be placed, with the steel framing structure erected in late fall. Plans are to have the structure temporarily enclosed before the cold weather arrives, so that the interior can be heated for work to continue throughout the winter.
The replacement of the short span of Thompson Trail is complete. It will be open for use once work on the new Friars Road and parking Lot F is completed at the end of August.
Parking Lot F (by the baseball field) is being expanded and repaved, and double crews are working to have this area complete by the end of Labor Day weekend, barring any weather impacts. Additional parking spaces are being added, Friars Road is being realigned, and a number of safety and aesthetic improvements are being made. According to Mark Frost, assistant vice president for facilities management, the new Lot F will be safer, featuring crosswalks, islands, and better delineation.
“People will be pleased with this; it will be easier to navigate,” he said.
Complete interior and exterior renovations of 10 Cushing Village townhouse apartments will be finished prior to move in. This work included renovated bathrooms as well as new windows and siding, kitchens, finishes, appliances, plumbing, light fixtures, fire alarm systems and other site improvements. More Cushing apartments will be renovated in the near future in this multi-phase project.
Upgrades to the area surrounding the Ring of Honor are complete. A temporary asphalt sidewalk has placed along Lot H to allow access to the townhouses.
Finishing touches to renovations of the lobbies and lounges in Hennepin and Plassmann halls are being made. A handicapped-accessible ramp has been added to the front of Hennepin, making it ADA compliant for the first time.