RIT campus improvement projects underway
Renovations being made to residence halls, classrooms, and outdoor spaces
Traci Westcott/RIT
Construction projects continue on the RIT campus this summer, including major work on residence halls.
With the spring semester concluded, the RIT campus remains busy with nearly 100 construction and renovation projects underway to welcome new and returning students in August.
The most visible are ongoing renovations to residence halls. Currently in the fourth year of a five-year plan, projects include masonry and roofing work, installing smart locks in residence rooms, and installing new fire alarms and underground heating pipes, said Michael Dellefave, director of construction/project management and off campus properties. All residence halls on the east side of campus now have air conditioning.
Work is also being done this summer to replace network cabling in Sol Huemann Hall and Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Hall. The buildings are also getting refreshed interiors.
The College of Liberal Arts is getting refreshed this summer, with new flooring, paint, lighting, and ceilings.
Traci Westcott/RIT
Dozens of contractors are working on nearly 100 construction and renovation projects on the RIT campus this summer, including major work with masonry and roofing on residence halls.
A new media suite and graphic design area is being added to Booth Hall, which will also see updated flooring and lighting. Air conditioning will also be installed this summer in Booth and Gannett halls. And equipment will be added to research labs in Institute Hall and in University Services Center.
About 30 classrooms across campus will also be refreshed, with upgraded audio-visual options. Carpeting will also be replaced in many offices.
Outside, trees will be planted, particularly near pedestrian areas, and some parking areas will be resealed, patched, and restriped.
Renovations are planned to the walkway south of the RIT Performing Arts Center in what will be known as the Munson Quad, using aesthetics suggested in RIT’s master plan. It will be very pedestrian-focused, with additional trees and landscaping, featuring diagonal paths and angled benches. “I think it will be a very nice addition to the campus, and our first new design project this year,” said James Yarrington, RIT’s architect and director of planning and design. “This has become a very important pedestrian nexus to campus, a gateway to a lot of places.”
At Jefferson Place, 175 Jefferson Road, work is being done to ready half of the building to accommodate occupational therapy facilities for RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology for use this fall. Part of the building will continue to be used for student housing.
“Given the high volume of projects of all types, the paradox of summer for RIT Facilities Services Management is that as the tempo of academic and student life drops for the season, project work goes into overdrive to accomplish as much as possible before the community returns in force each fall,” Yarrington said.
