Utica College is preparing to start building a $3.5 million home for its construction management program.
“This is the only stand-alone construction management program in the state of New York that’s accredited by the ACCE (American Council of Construction Education),” program director David Dubbelde told The Tangerine, the college’s student newspaper. “The site drawings were set to be complete by the end of this summer, and the construction is arranged to start in March of 2018. The occupancy of the building is scheduled for the start of Spring 2019.”
The proposed 15,000 sq. ft. building will be two-stories. It include a new 1,000 sq. ft. material laboratory, two construction management laboratories, four classrooms plus a smart classroom, a multi-use auditorium and four faculty offices.
The smart classroom will have mobile cameras and smart video conferencing technology and will allow the program to access blended online courses. The ACCE requires programs to have a lab that is sufficient for their curriculum, which the 1,000-square foot materials lab will fulfill. The multi-use auditorium will be used for construction management conferences, professional presentations, alumni gatherings, seminars and large lectures. The space will have a 120-seating capacity.
“Within the next five years, 50 percent of professional trades people will be retiring which means these construction management students are next in the workforce pipeline and they need the resources necessary to get them there,” said George Nehme, vice president for advancement.
“Right now, we have $2.1 million in gifts and pledges of the $3.5 million we need,” said Nehme. “We project to receive the rest within a year.”
The new construction management building is set to offer a range of benefits for the program, the college and the students. With new learning spaces, it will be possible to send out educated and highly-trained students into the workforce upon graduation.
“Utica’s construction management program already has a lot of things going for it, but when prospective students come to campus and see this new, high-quality facility, it will just enhance the college’s ability to recruit and retain the kind of promising young professionals the industry needs,” said Gary Thurston, chairman and CEO of Hayner-Hoyt Corporation.
