Summer construction projects underway

Summer construction projects are full speed ahead at RIT, including numerous improvements to greet students in August, such as new roofing, air conditioning, and refreshes in residence halls.

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Carlos Ortiz/RIT

Construction projects continue on the RIT campus this summer, including major work on residence halls.

In its third, and most ambitious year of a five-year plan, this summer’s residence hall renovations include masonry repairs on Kate Gleason Hall and Residence Halls A, B, and C; Eugene Colby Hall, Helen Fish Hall and Fredricka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall will be getting new roofs; refreshes and fire alarm work will be done in Colby Hall and Gleason Hall; and Sol Heumann Hall will be getting new air conditioning.

In addition, Frances Baker Hall and Residence Halls A, B and C will be getting new room doors and card access.

“A lot of work is going to happen in a very short amount of time,” said John Moore, associate vice president for Facilities Management Services at RIT. “We will try to be completed by Aug. 9 so the move-in is flawless. That’s the highest priority we have, so move-in can be awesome.”

Although most students won’t be on campus over the summer, the residence halls will be occupied periodically by visitors, including participants in the Genius Olympiad.

“We still have our annual cleaning of all the rooms and need to make way for these summer guests,” Moore said. “There’s so much activity over there that the timing of being ready is super critical. FMS has a lot of people working every day to make sure all of this can get done, and get done in time. We’ve partnered with Residence Life and RIT Housing to make sure we haven’t missed anything. We’ve been planning this for months.”

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Carlos Ortiz/RIT

Construction projects continue on the RIT campus this summer, including new roofs on some apartments in University Commons.

Additional work is being done in other housing areas, including roof replacements this summer and over the next three summers in University Commons; some units will receive kitchen and bathroom renovations; air conditioning is being installed over two years in Perkins Green apartments; and some foundation repairs, kitchen replacements and shower renovations are being done on a few Riverknoll apartments.

Other summer projects include:

Frank Ritter Ice Arena, which was used as a temporary storage and study area in recent years, will now be converted to its new use: a state-of-the-art indoor training facility available for all 25 intercollegiate athletic teams. Artificial turf will be installed inside the former ice arena this summer. The project is expected to be completed this fall.

George H. Clark Gymnasium: The original floor, which is 50 years old, is being replaced and is expected to be completed by the first week of August.

Gannett Hall, Gosnell Hall, and Booth Hall: Projects are underway to add air conditioning to the remaining areas not cooled. These projects will be completed over the next two summers. This work includes replacement of air handling equipment, replacement of duct work above ceilings, and other work that cannot be competed when classes are in session.

Student Innovation Hall: Renovations will be made to the first floor to create space for the RIT Service Center, Information and Technology Services, and Institutional Research to move there to make space for a home for the School of Performing Arts on the first floor of George Eastman Hall, possibly in 2026.

And work continues on three large projects on campus:

Music performance theater: The theater, which broke ground in September, will feature a 750-seat theater primarily to be used for musical theater productions. It will have two balconies and a historic pipe organ as its centerpiece. The estimated completion is December 2025, and like other venues on campus, it will be available for public use.

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Carlos Ortiz/RIT

Major construction projects, such as the music performance theater, continue this summer on the RIT campus, as well as additional projects throughout campus.

Tiger Stadium: The official groundbreaking of the new Tiger Stadium was held in April. The $30 million, 38,828-square-foot facility will provide a state-of-the-art modern home for the men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer programs.
 
The facility will seat 1,180, with additional capacity in the hospitality room, along with standing room. Amenities for the new stadium include team locker rooms; a training room with two large hot and cold tubs, taping tables, and exam tables; media suite; concession area; hospitality room with glass viewing wall; and an outdoor concourse.

It is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025.

Research building: Work continues on a new research building on the west side of campus. The building will be the host to several new research spaces for science, engineering, and technology. The building is expected to be open in late fall of 2024, with research beginning in the spring of 2025.

“These are big projects, and very important for the university,” Moore said. “The theater is a strategic project and will be the crown jewel for our Performing Arts program. The stadium will be a strategic initiative for recruiting athletes and certainly will add impressiveness to the campus. And we’re already recruiting high-level researchers to come to RIT to be part of our new research building.”

No major roadwork is expected on campus this summer, although some minor repairs will be made to parking lots and roadways, Moore said.