Chancellor Kent Syverud released a draft of the Campus Framework plan to the Syracuse University community on Monday after 18 months of planning and campus outreach from the 17-member advisory group.

The Campus Framework plan is one of three parts included in the Fast Forward Syracuse initiative, which was started in 2014 shortly after Syverud was inaugurated as chancellor. The Campus Framework is intended as a guideline for the future of SU’s physical campus. The other two parts of Fast Forward are the Academic Strategic Plan and the Operational Excellence Program.

As a long-term plan, the Campus Framework is meant to guide SU campus development over the next 20 years. Some long-term plans include phasing out South Campus and making main campus more “walkable.” In the short term, construction has already started on some projects included in the plan, such as the University Place promenade.

Other near-term projects include the National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC), Carrier Dome improvements and roof replacement, The Arch student life and recreation center and Waverly Avenue streetscape improvements, according to the document.

Plans to renovate and make the Schine Student Center and Bird Library “collaborative study spaces and increased physical connectivity” are also included in the Campus Framework.

Cathryn Newton, a member of the Campus Framework Advisory Group and a professor of earth sciences at SU, said the Campus Framework is going to be subject to comments, suggestions and criticism from the SU community. She said this feedback will be a key feature of the plan and she hopes it will point the way to future drafts or versions of the plan.

Although the plan will be subject to comments from the public, construction on some of the proposals — including the University Place promenade, which has drawn criticism from some in the SU community — is already well underway.

The University Place promenade and Quad improvement project will be completed this summer before the fall semester starts.

Rachel Gilbert | Feature Editor

In addition to the University Place promenade, the Campus Framework plans for two other promenades to be built: the Waverly Avenue promenade and the Academic promenade, according to the document. The Waverly Avenue promenade will be used as a bridge between the city of Syracuse and the SU campus. The Academic promenade will connect the West Campus neighborhood to the Quad, or “the academic core.”

“We call for a strengthening, an energizing of the academic core up in the Quadrangle area,” Newton said. “There are many things that would give the campus a stronger identity and personality and also make new opportunities available for students and faculty.”

Over time, South Campus student housing — about 2,700 beds — will be relocated to Main Campus, according to the document. Almost 900 more beds will be added to those transferring from South to Main Campus, making a total of about 3,600 beds to be added to Main Campus residential buildings.

Newton said it is too early to determine the future of South Campus after student housing has been transferred to Main Campus.

Over the summer, SU is working on completing more than 120 campus construction projects. The first of five information sessions on the summer construction projects was held on June 15. The next session will be next Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in Lyman Auditorium.

The total cost of the projects included in the Campus Framework is unknown. Newton said funding for the plan was included in conversations about the Campus Framework, but she was not sure of the details.

The NVRC has been estimated to cost $62.5 million and the University Place promenade will cost the university $6 million. The replacement of the Carrier Dome’s roof, the renovation of Archbold Gymnasium to become the “Arch” and other accessibility and mobility upgrades to the Dome has been estimated to cost $255 million.

Newton said the 17-person advisory group strongly agreed that they all wanted SU faculty and students to see the direct results of the Campus Framework plan.

“When you come back in 20 years, you will see the handprint of this plan on the campus. That’s just tremendously gratifying and rewarding,” Newton said.

Accessibility is currently one of the big issues on the SU campus, Newton said, and the Campus Framework plan addresses that.

“It’s rare that a geologist would complain about geology but the hilly terrain on our campus accentuates this problem,” Newton said.

The Campus Framework emphasizes mobility improvements by suggesting a universal design and a “more walkable, compact” layout for the SU campus. The plan also proposes changes to bicycle pathways, transit systems and vehicular networks to help improve campus accessibility.

Newton added that members of the disability community were involved in the planning and discussion for the Campus Framework.

Now that this initial draft of the Campus Framework has been presented, Newton said she hopes the “next generation” of the Campus Framework Advisory Group — which would be “constituted deliberately to be inclusive, to be spanning a very wide range of programs and students, staff and faculty” — will continue to give input on the plan.

Published on June 20, 2016 at 8:44 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann