Funding for projects in the Campus Framework plan will be driven largely by fundraising, said Pete Sala, SU’s vice president and chief campus facilities officer.

“We know there’s not this giant pot of money at the end of the rainbow, so as we work toward these things, there needs to be a plan in place,” Sala said Monday afternoon at a Campus Framework open forum in Newhouse 3’s Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium.

At the fourth of six Campus Framework forums this semester, money was the hot topic.

Sala said Syracuse University is in “pretty good shape” in terms of funding for some of the Campus Framework’s biggest projects, such as the National Veterans Resource Complex and transforming Archbold Gymnasium into “The Arch.”

Tim Drumm, SU’s executive director of special initiatives, said funding for the NVRC will come from a variety of sources, including donors and from New York state through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

The state will also be a big factor in funding the renovations to Archbold Gymnasium and the Carrier Dome, which are estimated to cost a combined $255 million, Sala said.

“We know we can get to where we need to be,” Sala said.

Here is more information on other updates provided at Monday’s meeting:

The future University Place promenade

Sala displayed conceptual images of the “future” University Place promenade. The promenade was completed over the summer, but Sala said there could be further updates to it in the future.

That could include “bringing out” the Schine Student Center closer to where the promenade is, and having the promenade meet E.S. Bird Library so pedestrians can walk directly off the promenade and into the library.

“(Bird and Schine) are both so heavily used,” Sala said. “They’re great venues. We just want to make them more inviting.”

NVRC classrooms

Though the NVRC would serve as the hub of veterans services at SU, it would also have non-veterans purposes.

For example, Drumm said the non-veterans related units on campus will likely be able to use classrooms inside the NVRC.

“We want to integrate,” Drumm said. “We’re starving for classroom space.”

Next draft

SU’s plan to release another draft of the Campus Framework in January 2017 is an “aggressive schedule” that might not be met, Sala said.

As of now, the university’s plan is to release the draft after a feedback phase in October-November and a review by the Campus Framework Advisory Committee in November-December.

“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us, but it’s definitely something we want to get to,” Sala said.

Disclaimer: The Daily Orange leases a house on Ostrom Avenue owned by Syracuse University. As part of the long-term Campus Framework implementation, the university has proposed building student housing on Ostrom Avenue where The Daily Orange currently operates.

Published on September 26, 2016 at 11:21 pm

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu