LEE PYE
Staff Writer
DAN QUAGLIANA
Managing Editor
When one construction project is about to end, another begins.
As of Sept. 2024, multiple buildings at SUNY Fredonia are under different stages of construction. Additionally, Reed Library and Jewett Hall will undergo renovations beginning in the summer of 2025.
The Maytum-McEwen-Reed Library plaza construction started in the 2020 Fall semester, though the project was originally proposed in 2011. The entire plaza was closed off for approximately three to four years, when slowly things started to open back up, but what is actually open now?
The Amphitheater
By now, most students have noticed the Amphitheater’s reappearance, with multiple different events already taking place in the pit. A barricade is at the top left of the stage to direct traffic away from the Reed Library stairs.
Half of the riot stairs
Half of the riot stairs (which disrupt the flow of crowd traffic because of their length) that face towards Fenton Hall are open. The other half is barricaded to direct traffic towards the roof of McEwen Hall rather than the outside pathway that leads to Maytum Hall.
The large entrance of McEwen Hall
The entrance to McEwen Hall that gives access almost directly to the inside entrance of the Reed Library was opened, offering more foot traffic in that respective area.
The McEwen Hall roof
The McEwen Hall roof is technically extended to the outside of the first floor of McEwen and the second floor of Reed Library. This is where built-in benches line the outside of Reed Library, facing the Reed Library steps and Mason Hall.
Accessibility ramp
The accessibility ramp was built during the construction project, which leads from the bottom to the top of the Reed Library steps.
Now, what is still under construction? The Reed Library steps, and both the upper and lower sections of the Maytum Hall roof. The places that are not open are those listed above, along with the outside pathway from Maytum Hall to McEwen Hall, the other half of the riot stairs and the parking lot between Maytum and McEwen, which is also known as Lot 1.
There are a few different construction projects happening, and not all of them are coming from the same pool of money. The Maytum Hall roof work is part of the Campus Let Contracts Program, which is separate from the State University Construction Project. It’s two different pools of money.
The money involved in these campus projects is connected to SUNY but is not related to the defunding of Fredonia from the SUNY system. It is also not related to the $1.4 million dollars SUNY recently allocated to Fredonia.
Every year, a budget is passed for the Construction Fund, which SUNY distributes money to.
According to sucf.suny.edu, “The [Construction] Fund is dedicated solely to act as an agent for SUNY to design, construct, acquire and improve SUNY’s state-operated building and infrastructure assets on its 32 campuses and at three teaching hospitals. These assets reflect new construction and the continued restoration and maintenance of existing buildings.”
Usually, the Construction Fund asks for roughly one billion dollars per year and receives roughly 800 to 850 million dollars per year.
Patching the Reed Library stairs will be the last step of the plaza project and is expected to be finished before the snow starts falling. Originally, it was supposed to be finished in late summer to early September. However, a few setbacks occurred.
Markus Kessler, Fredonia’s director of facilities planning said, “It’s very weather-dependent. The material they are working with is very sensitive to temperature, the amount of water [present and] how long you mix it together. You have a very short timeframe to get that in place. They can’t work in the rain, or if there is high humidity, or the temperature isn’t right. The contractor will not come out, because the panel will just pop right off.”
Loewke Brill is the company that is currently working on the project. They were hired after the original company went bankrupt while simultaneously working on the project haphazardly.
Ironically, the same contractor that installed the stairs incorrectly the first time was hired again by Loewke Brill to replace and fix the stairs.
The stairs of Reed Library would take about two weeks’ worth of work hours to complete using weather-safe products. However, with the weather-dependent products they are using, there is not a solid timeline of when the construction for that project will be done. As of Sept. 26th, the guess is about October.
Two sections of Maytum Hall roof are being worked on.
The lower roof, next to Lot 1, is being replaced.
The work is currently at a stand-still because of a voltage-related valve error. They are currently waiting on the correct valve piece to be received and installed in order to finish the roofing.
The entire process should take about two to three work days once the correct product is received.
The upper roof of Maytum Hall was not as extensive of a job, because they did not remove the roofing membrane. The construction mainly consisted of painting the roof with a seal to protect it for 25 years, according to the warranty of the product.
Jewett Hall, contrarily, hasn’t been used by students in the last four years beyond holding a COVID-19 testing facility during the Fall 2021 semester.
“Constructed in 1963, Jewett Hall was the home for science education at Fredonia, and included teaching laboratories, faculty offices, cold room facilities, a 200-seat auditorium and a planetarium,” explained Kessler. “The building is 65,539 gross square feet (GSF), consisting of one- and two-story sections above grade, and one story partially below grade which covers the entire footprint.”
When asked about the upcoming construction, Kessler said, “[The] project will be a partial gut renovation of the building, leaving the planetarium and lecture hall in place; both spaces are to be rehabilitated.”
According to Kessler, Fredonia is trying to “centralize student support services in three adjacent buildings, one of which is Jewett Hall … This will form a student success corridor in the heart of the campus.”
The plan to centralize student support services came about because, “Student support services at Fredonia are currently located in eight buildings across the campus.”
The registrar’s office, Student Accounts, and the transition services and financial aid offices will be moving to Jewett Hall from Maytum Hall. Academic Advising and the Honors Program will be moving from Fenton Hall, the Educational Development Program, International Student Services, and Office of International Education are coming in from Thompson Hall, and the Career Development Office is moving in from Gregory Hall.
It has not yet been determined what will happen to the spaces those offices are currently housed in.
Brian Rivera, a student who worked in Jewett Hall over the summer, said, “It’s empty. All the classrooms are empty, [and] some of the classrooms are boarded up. Nothing is there.”
Rivera worked in property control within the Purchasing Department as a summer work study employee, and went into the basement of Jewett Hall for many of his shifts. “The basement smelled [of] thick, pungent, old dust. It smells like ‘dead’ air, nothing has been moved, nothing has been touched in a long time.”
Additionally, “The building will receive a new masonry façade and new windows that allow occupants access to natural light in all of the offices and conference spaces,” Kessler said. “Newly added exterior canopies … [offer] protection from the elements while also calling greater attention to the building [entrances], increasing the sense of welcome that the building projects.”
While Jewett Hall construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025, bidding on the construction by various companies will start in December of this year. Construction will not be completed until January of 2028, when the building will be reopened for occupancy.
While Reed Library isn’t currently under construction, renovations there will begin in November of 2025.
“The renovation of Reed Library presents an opportunity for SUNY Fredonia to renew and revitalize one of its most prized assets on campus, to serve the students, faculty and greater Fredonia communities for decades to come,” Kessler said.
The new design will “celebrate the legacy” of I.M. Pei’s original architecture while “prioritizing innovation and academic success.”
Faculty and staff offices will be reorganized underneath the current music mezzanine in order to open more study spaces and classrooms for students.
A new tutoring hub will occupy the current music library, and on the main floor, study rooms will be interspersed with the stacks holding books.
Additionally, “Partitions installed in previous renovations will be removed and reconfigured, providing greater transparency, connectivity and improving wayfinding between student services,” Kessler noted.
The renovation will include a new cooling and ventilation ductwork system, as well as upgraded finishes, lighting and improved accessibility throughout the building. A new elevator will be installed for the tutoring center in the mezzanine area.
Kessler revealed that, “The renovations will introduce a variety of learning labs, meeting spaces, seminar rooms, [a] classroom, digital scholar lab, podcast studio, one button studio, and study spaces.”
Occupants include library faculty, online learning, the Professional Development Center, grant and sponsored programs, the Office of Student Creative Activity (OSCAR) and tutoring.
The renovations are expected to be completed in Aug. 2027.
While renovations are underway, library services will be moved to the adjacent Carnahan-Jackson Center, and the book collection will be temporarily stored in Erie Hall.
