Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala discussed updates on multiple Campus Framework initiatives, including the National Veterans Resource Center and the future of Schine Student Center, in an interview with The Daily Orange.

Syracuse University will continue to work with minority- and women- owned business enterprises on construction and renovation projects, Sala said. Every project at SU has a goal of 10 percent of the workforce being from MWBEs, he added.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said in his 2019 “State of the City” address that SU works on some of the largest construction projects in the region, and applauded the university’s effort to hire local, minority and veteran workers.

“It’s important to try and get as much local support we can,” Sala said.

Construction continues on the NVRC, which is slated to open in the spring semester of 2020, Sala said. Last week’s warmer weather allowed construction crews to pour concrete, which they typically cannot do in the cold winter months, he said.

Plans for the redevelopment of the 700 block of Ostrom Avenue is still very conceptual, he said, and the university is currently working with a design team to understand what they can do with the street’s properties.

Several organizations, including the LGBT Resource Center and the Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services, moved out of their locations on Ostrom to accommodate for future construction projects. The Daily Orange is currently located in the 700 block of Ostrom Avenue.

“We need to have an idea of what we’re going to do, because we’re going to have to go to the city and say, ‘Hey, we’re not just coming in knocking houses down. Here’s what we’re going to build, or what potentially we could build,’” Sala said.

Planning for the Bill and Penny Allyn Innovation Center, a new student support facility set to be built onto Link Hall, is also still in preliminary stages, he said. Campus facilities is working with a construction management firm for pre-construction services on the center.

Construction designs for Schine Student Center are about 65 percent complete, he said. Renovations are scheduled to start in May, Sala added.

The Barnes Center at The Arch, SU’s new gym and wellness complex that’s replacing the Archbold Gymnasium, is still set to open in September, he said.

In other news

For the men’s basketball game against Duke University on Feb. 23, the Carrier Dome will treat the record-breaking, sold-out game like a football crowd, Sala said. The game will be staffed like a football game, he said.

“It’s going to be a great week to be a Syracuse student,” Sala said.

Published on February 10, 2019 at 10:51 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001