NEW HAVEN — Southern Connecticut State University is in the final stages of construction of its $52.4 million new building and is ready for faculty relocation in less than two weeks.
The four-story, 64,000-square-foot School of Business will be the first government building to leave a zero carbon footprint, thanks to solar panels and a 500-foot-deep geothermal system for air conditioning and green power.
“It’s about saving money and conserving the environment,” said Eric Lessne, associate vice president of capital budgeting and facility operations. “Our entire campus consists of 100 percent green electricity. We produce around 60 percent of our electricity on campus with our fuel cells and solar systems.”
School of Business Dean Jess Boronico said the new building and other initiatives are “expected to increase the volume of enrollments to international markets, including China, India and beyond.” According to the university, the school currently has about 700 undergraduate students.
This is a carousel. Use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate.
The Connecticut state college and university system is struggling with lower enrollment, so it plans “devastating” budget cuts — including 650 faculty and staff layoffs and the suspension of some programs.
According to Peter Visentin, head of the university’s architecture department, the new building will have 64 offices, eight classrooms, a 99-seat auditorium, an 85-seat shared lounge, a specialist classroom, five conference rooms, 16 team rooms and a boardroom.
The faculty of the Faculty of Economics will move into the new office space on May 22, three days after the construction company handed over the building to the state. An opening ceremony of the building is planned for September 15th.
Construction is complete but the university is still awaiting occupancy, some finishing touches on things and furniture – but “nothing detrimental”.
Visentin said some of the rooms planned for the building were ones that the faculty asked for during the planning process. For example, Visentin said the professors wanted a one-sided mirror room to observe market research on the other side.
Technologies included in the building include motion-sensing water fountains, stock tickers, planning touchscreens in front of team rooms, and a technical room that can be controlled via the university’s building management system and is monitored from another building.
The current School of Business is located in the former student center on Crescent Street. Visentin said the building was “undersized” and there were only two classrooms. He said the registrar has to schedule courses across campus, which means students have to meet at different locations.
“Now that we’re in our new 64,000-square-foot home office, we can consolidate the business school into this building,” Visentin said.
Victoria Verderame, associate director for media relations, said the university has not yet decided what to do with the existing building.
The completion of the building was originally planned for February of this year. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the construction process. However, the original plan to open the building to students for classes in the fall of 2023 was not foiled.
The impact of the pandemic “wasn’t as bad as other projects,” Visentin said.
“We had some issues with the long lead time,” he said. “We had roofing material that took about a year to source, which normally takes two months. The same goes for the mechanical units.”
Just last month, SCSU received accreditation for its business school from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. Other accredited business schools in the area include the University of New Haven and Quinnipiac University.
“It’s like pulling teeth; That’s a great achievement,” said Lessne. “I hope this building has something to do with it.”
The university recently opened the $74 million Health and Human Services Building. According to a budget presented last year, SCSU plans to renovate the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, Earl Hall and Moore Field House. Also planned is a new, one-story, 10,000-square-foot campus police facility on Wintergreen Avenue.
chatwan.mongkol@hearstmediact.com
Post a Comment