One building at a time, Plattsburgh State is renovating its campus dormitories to provide students a better-quality living space.
This year’s project is Moffitt Hall, which is scheduled to be completed by July 2016, PSUC Director of Housing and Residence Life Steve Matthews said.
Moffitt will be the first building to have its renovation process include improvements to the bathrooms. For that to happen, plumbing needs to be replaced, and because new bathrooms weren’t in the original plan, Moffitt’s not exactly on schedule.
However, Matthews said the project won’t miss its expected completion time even if that means scheduling extra work shifts.
“That’s an additional piece, and we’re still trying to figure out how that’s going to impact our schedule,” Matthews said. “We’ll get it done before students arrive. It’s just a matter of whether or not to have the contractors work in double shifts.”
Plans for renovating Wilson Hall, the next dormitory in line for a makeover, have already begun.
Renovations to the Podium, an elevated walkway connecting the second floors of several campus buildings, have also been in the works this semester.
Referred to as Phase I, according to PSUC’s website, the first step in reconstructing the Podium was removing the walkway near Yokum and Beaumont down to Hudson. That path bridged over Broad Street, serving as a shortcut for students traveling between Hudson and buildings on the opposite side of the road.
“(The bridge) was very convenient, and I miss it a lot,” PSUC biology major Lindsey Spiker said. “I have class in Yokum right before the class that I have in Hudson, and I have to take an extra long route to get there now instead of just crossing over the bridge.”
The bridge should be back by the end of May 2016.
A new membrane, drainage and stamped concrete walking surface are some of the additions planned for the rehabilitated Podium, according to PSUC’s website. Cathodic protection, which will protect the reinforcing steel, is also being installed, as well as a system to melt snow.
Kevin Roberts, director of facilities, said these enhancements, more specifically the cathodic protection, will extend the life of the repair by about 10 years.
While minor repairs to the Podium are common, major renovations like this usually occur every 10 to 15 years, Roberts said.
Once current renovations are complete, the school has plans to continue working on the Podium beginning either fall 2016 or late spring 2017, reconstructing the area between the ACC and Feinberg Library all the way to Kehoe.
Students will lose access to that area.
“That probably won’t be all torn out, but that will be inside of a construction project area,” Roberts said. “It will not be accessible.”
The gym inside Sibley Hall is no more, and the Center for Neurobehavioral Health will soon take its place — for whoever thinks fall 2017 is soon. The two-year project will transform the former gym into a two-story department with traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s and autism clinics to move into the first floor and the Psychology Department to move into the second.
PSUC psychology major Ruby Lainez, who works for the Third Age Adult Day Care Center, said moving both the department and clinics into the same building is a great way to see more interaction between the organizations and students.
“You can do a lot of internships at the clinics, and I feel like psych majors don’t really know that,” she said. “A lot of people don’t even know that Third Age exists, even though they are psychology majors. … I guess it’ll open up more opportunities for people who are interested.”
Lainez said she was interested in Third Age because her professor’s office was in Sibley, so she knew more about it.
Cardinal Points could not reach Capital Project Manager Rick Larche, the overseer of these construction projects, for additional information.
Email Manny Vivas at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
