Watch Us Grow
Watch Us Grow
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With record enrollment and four buildings in various stages of planning, design and construction over the next few years, SUNYIT is growing—and we invite you to check here for the latest developments: architectural drawings, groundbreaking and construction photos, and much more.
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Campus celebrates completion of Student Center
An enthusiastic crowd gathered in the Student Center February 17 to mark its official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. President Yeigh welcomed students, faculty, staff and friends of SUNYIT to the event and introduced several speakers: Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, State Senator Joseph Griffo, former State Senator Raymond Meier, and Student Association President Jean Desulme.
"Your slogan says it all,” Destito said, pointing to a banner that displays the SUNYIT logo with the "Engage the future. Change the world" recruitment slogan. "This building and the other improvements being made on this campus are going to help SUNYIT fulfill those words by delivering a quality affordable education to today's students and tomorrow's."
The February 17 ceremony marked the end of a $13.8 million construction project that began with a formal groundbreaking ceremony in October 2009. Gaetano Construction, Inc., of Utica was the project’s general contractor; the building was designed by QPK Design of Syracuse. Since the start of the spring semester in January, students have been getting to know the new building; clubs and organizations began preparing for their move into new offices last fall. 
The Student Center includes a dining area with food stations providing varied menu choices, multi-purpose rooms, campus life offices, offices and meeting rooms for student clubs, game room, a theater and lounges, technology for wireless computing, a 20-foot media wall for displaying information about campus events and activities, and an environment enhanced for computer gaming. Some of the building’s audio-visual equipment will be fully installed later this semester.
Other campus construction projects underway include: the $20 million Field House, in which both the academic awards banquet and commencement will be held in May, and Oriskany Residence Hall, scheduled to be completed in summer 2011—it will be home to freshmen starting in the fall semester. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Field House is tentatively scheduled for mid-to-late April.
Planning is underway for the technology complex that will include the Center for Advanced Technology and the Computer Chip Commercialization Center. Site work is expected to continue in the months ahead with construction starting later this year.
SUNYIT to celebrate completion of new Student Center
Opening ceremony for building is February 17
A formal ceremony later this month will mark the completion of SUNYIT’s new Student Center. SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh will welcome students, faculty, staff, elected officials and dignitaries to the public ceremony on Thursday, February 17, at 1 p.m.
Officials break ground for technology complex
The much-discussed, long-anticipated technology complex construction project began October 14 with some ceremonial shoveling. President Yeigh welcomed dignitaries, students, faculty, staff and friends of SUNYIT to the groundbreaking ceremony between Kunsela Hall and parking lot A—the site of the future Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) and the Computer Chip Commercialization Center ("Quad-C"). Together, the two will form an academic and industry complex on the campus. The CAT, a t-shaped, three-story structure, will be more than 60,000 square feet; the Quad-C is still under design and its size will grow to meet the demand of its industry tenants. The first Quad-C tenant was announced August 19; nfrastructure, a technology company headquartered in Clifton Park, plans to occupy temporary space on campus until the complex is completed in 2012-2013.
Time for another groundbreaking
For the fourth time in the past two years, SUNYIT will celebrate the start of a major construction project. This time, the ceremonial shovels will be used to mark the start of a major technology complex: the Center for Advanced Technology/Computer Chip Commercialization Center. All are invited to attend: Thursday, October 14, 2 p.m., near Kunsela Hall and parking lot A. Below, an early architectural rendering of the “CAT/Quad-C.”
The CAT, a t-shaped, three-story structure, will be more than 60,000 square feet; the Quad-C is still under design and its size will grow to meet the demand of its industry tenants. The first Quad-C tenant was announced August 19; nfrastructure, a technology company headquartered in Clifton Park, plans to occupy temporary space on campus until the complex is completed in 2012-2013.
Summer Construction Update
A look at the progress that’s been made on the three major building projects as of early August 2010: the student center (top), the field house (middle) and Oriskany Residence Hall (bottom)
Groundbreaking for Oriskany Residence Hall
Groundbreaking for Oriskany Residence Hall took place near the Campus Center on April 15.
Architect's rendering of Oriskany Residence Hall.
Construction Continues
The student center project saw a lot of progress over the winter. And the field house project is starting to take shape, with structural steel beams going up in recent weeks.
From left to right: the student center project, Cayan Library, Donovan Hall, and the field house project.
Field house groundbreaking followed by construction activity
For the second year in a row, October 23 was a groundbreaking date. In 2008, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held to mark the start of the student center construction project. In 2009, the date marked the beginning of the field house project.
Both projects saw significant progress during the fall semester. Below, l. to r., the October 23 groundbreaking ceremony was held just north of the construction site; construction crews worked to complete the exterior shell of the student center so interior work can continue over the winter months.
Lots of activity at the Student Center construction site in recent weeks. Structural steel is going up and workers have repositioned security fencing to offer those parking in designated handicapped spaces in lot C easier access to a new paved pathway that leads to Kunsela Hall. For the time being, drivers will be using the new entrance to C lot instead of the old one that fed traffic directly into the handicapped parking area.
More parking
Just in time for the start of the fall semester, new parking is ready for use as part of the project extending lot C in front of Donovan Hall and adjacent to the Student Center construction site. The entire lot now has 40 more spaces than it had before construction began. Temporary lighting will be in place until permanent lighting is installed.
Watch the Student Center take shape
If you’d like to see how construction is going on the $13.6 million Student Center, you can check it out online. A webcam offers a real-time view of the construction site and nearby campus scenes as well. The webcam is available on SUNYIT’s home page, or go to: www.sunyit.edu/constructioncam and see how the latest campus project is taking shape!
Nanotech partnership will add to planned advanced technology center
On July 15, SUNYIT and UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering announced a major partnership supported by $225 million in New York State and nanotechnology industry funds. Participating in the Cayan Library news conference were Governor David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver,
Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh (seen here addressing a crowd of more than 200 at the event), representatives of IBM and SEMATECH, and other officials. A news release issued by Speaker Silver’s office has more details about the Computer Chip Hybrid Integration Partnership (CHIP) announcement.
A state-of-the-art 'clean room' and other facilities are expected to be incorporated into the already planned $27.5 million advanced technology center, which will likely be larger than originally envisioned. President Yeigh, speaking at the end of the July 15 event, concluded his remarks by “borrowing the SUNYIT slogan we’ve been using to describe campus growth—it’s an appropriate way to describe this project’s impact on New York State’s future: ‘Watch Us Grow!’”
View a slideshow of photos from the event.
Two kinds of groundbreaking
1. Mark your calendar! The ceremonial groundbreaking for SUNYIT’s next big construction project—the $20 million field house—will be held on Friday, October 23, at 2 p.m. Students, faculty, staff and friends of SUNYIT are invited to the event.
2. The week of July 6 saw the start of some really serious ‘groundbreaking’ for another major project, the $13.6 million student center. Crews began breaking up part of the parking lot in front of Donovan Hall as the first big step toward construction got underway.
...and while we're on the subject...
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Please be aware that parking has changed in lot C near Temporary parking map (pdf) |
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Getting ready for construction |
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 Clearing the way for the new parking lot. |
 Handicapped parking sign is installed. |
| Main campus entrance gets new look Whether you're driving to campus or just passing by on Rte. 12, you'll see something new at the Horatio Street entrance. On May 19 and 20, crews installed a two-ton monument sign featuring the SUNYIT logo. Photographers Matt Kopytowski and Lynne Browne captured the installation at various stages, so you can see how the sign went up. |
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Made of aluminum in SUNYIT’s blue-and-gray school colors, the completed structure is 24 feet high and 18 feet wide. It replaces the original campus entrance sign in place since 1985. Workers from Wilcox Brothers Sign Company in Buffalo used a crane to fit the monument’s three parts over a concrete-and-steel-reinforced supporting structure.
“This will be quite visible for campus visitors and those driving by the main entrance during the day, but even more so at night,” said SUNYIT spokesman John Swann. “The SUNYIT logo will be lit by hundreds of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. LED technology uses less energy and lasts longer than fluorescent or other traditional lighting systems.” The main entrance monument is part of a capital improvement project that includes similar but smaller signs at SUNYIT’s two other entrances at Mulaney Road and Edic Road.
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| The work goes on! Architects JMZ are well into the design of the field house and have shared their latest images; these show how the new building will look, inside and out. |
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First, a view of the two planned buildings and an existing one: Donovan Hall (left) with the Field House behind it and the Student Center (right). |
| Next, two other exterior perspectives: a look at the Field House from the east followed by a front-entrance view... | |
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| Inside design images show two views of the gym, one at floor level and the other from the corridor: | |
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| Stay tuned for more updates on the Field House and other campus projects. | |
| Neither snow... | |
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Some campus improvements can't wait for better weather. In late October, the day the first snow of the season fell on campus, crews were working on a project that's a combination upgrade and preparation for a much larger construction project. "The contractor working around Kunsela and north of Donovan is J.A.T. Construction from Selkirk, New York," says Carson Sorrell, facilities director. |
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| “They are installing new manholes and duct bank for our underground electric and communications system. This project is both a rehabilitation for these systems and a necessary relocation of utilities to make way for construction of the field house.” The project is expected to continue into January 2009. |
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| A groundbreaking event--the first of several! | |
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Dignitaries joined President Wolf Yeigh at the October 23 ceremony on the site of the planned $13.6 million student center. From left: President Yeigh, Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, Student Association Executive Board President Jerimiah Edwards, State Senator Joseph Griffo, College Council member Theodore Max, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente. |
| A welcome change for the main campus entrance | |
| It’ll be a whole lot easier to spot SUNYIT’s “front door” soon. Travelers using routes 8/12 north and south who pass by the Horatio Street campus entrance will see a new monument sign, replacing the original sign which was removed in September (see below). Several feet taller than its predecessor, the new monument sign will be more visible. Similar signage is being installed at the other two campus entrances. |  |
| What’s going on in front of Kunsela Hall? | |
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The main entrance to the oldest campus building recently reopened, but some work is still to be done—and several people have asked about “the pillars.” These two gray structures are not quite finished, but should be soon—hopefully by the end of October. Carson Sorrell, facilities director, says once completed the two pillars will become a focal point, pointing visitors to Kunsela’s main entrance. Once finished, the pillars will be brick, matching the new plaza pavers, and each will feature the name “Kunsela” in an inset that will be LED-illuminated at night. |
| …and what’s going on near Edic Road? | |
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If you guessed “a new campus directory,” you’re right. A new campus map was installed at the original Horatio Road pull-off recently, and now workers are constructing an Edic Road entrance pull-off which will feature the same map. Both the student center and field house locations are indicated on the map, but with more buildings on the way Sorrell says these versions of the directory will be relatively short-term. In time, they’ll be replaced with updated panels. The Edic Road entrance--according to traffic data--is the most popular for those arriving on campus, and Horatio Street is the most popular exit. |
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Take a look--here's an architectural vision of what walking through the campus will be like once the student center and field house are completed:
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| Another "sign of the times" happened September 22, when the old campus entrance sign on Horatio Street began to come down to make way for a new, taller monument-type sign that will be installed soon. Preparations for similar entrance signs are underway at the Edic Road and Mulaney Road entrances. |
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On August 19, President Wolf Yeigh announced plans (to faculty, staff and reporters at the "State of the Campus" address) for a fourth new building: a $23.5 million residence hall, in addition to the previously announced $20 million field house, $13.6 million student center, and $27.5 million advanced technology center. |
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President Yeigh speaking to a TV reporter.
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| This campus map shows the locations of the four planned buildings and nearby existing buildings. |
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In July, crews took the first steps toward a reconfiguration of the main entrance to Kunsela Hall, as part of plans to construct the first of the four new campus buildings that will rise over the next four years.
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As work continues, photos and updated information will be available online on the four coming additions to the SUNYIT campus: the $13.6 million student center, $20 million field house, $27.5 million technology center, and the $23.5 million residence hall. |
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| In addition to news about the construction projects, other "watch us grow" news will be available online so everyone interested in SUNYIT's progress can keep up with the latest developments. | |