On of the main topics touched on at the Spring Town Meeting on Monday was the numerous facility upgrades and construction plans, as directed under Vice President for Administration Claude Rounds. President Shirley Ann Jackson provided the RPI community with a long list of the projects planned for the next few years at the Institute.
The final phase to restore the exterior of West Hall will begin this spring. There are also plans for a complete restoration of the Winslow building. The concrete foundation for the arena and stadium of the East Campus Athletic Village are complete, and the erection of the steel structure is in progress. While this continues, the Lower Renwyck fields are ready for use in the spring. Jackson stated that phase one of ECAV will be completed in about 18 months.
Meanwhile, construction on the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center is 83 percent complete. Certification of occupancy is scheduled for June, with plans underway for three weeks of opening events beginning the first weekend of October. According to Jackson, it will create a community that has not existed here before and represents out-of-the-box thinking. She anticipates that EMPAC will embody time-based arts, have a research agenda, become a focus of student life, have a link to academic programs, as well as perform functions such as for community and national events.
This summer, work will begin on the Carnegie building to update classrooms and restore the Eighth Street entrance. Work has begun on the Bio-Research Core in the Biotechnology Center. This work is funding by a Genesis Grant and is expected to be completed in September.
There will also be a new initiative beginning in the fall to replace, expand and upgrade the existing Jonsson-Rowland Science Center. The new expansion and upgrades will include a new laboratory and wetland facility for biology and physics, and provide space for new labs for undergraduate and graduate research. The existing building will be renovated for office, academic, teaching and conference use, and will incorporate deferred maintenance. Although an exact budget has not be calculated, Jackson expected around a $75 million cost for total construction.
In addition to the work on the Best Western Rensselaer Inn, Jackson looks forward to the renovation and upgrade of Sharp Hall, to be completed this summer. The upgrades include a complete refurbishment of the building interior, new windows, new bathrooms, a new roof, as well as new fire alarms.
In addition to the work on residence halls, there will be the demolition of 15 deteriorated residence structures on lower College Avenue. The land will be restored and a Monument Wall has been proposed as a new Institute Gateway on Peoples Avenue and Eight Street. Also, residences on College Avenue will be renovated to house artists, residents, and researchers working at the EMPAC, made possible through the generosity of an alumnus and his wife.
