By Rachael Bentley

Thanks to an extremely mild summer the progress of the construction of the new academic building is right on schedule.

“We’ve only had one rain delay, so the fair weather hasn’t been hurting their schedule,” said James Grupp, CCSU Project Manager.  “We had some scheduling issues that we are dealing with but the contractor, Gilbane, has a way to make up that time. We will be done, and on schedule.”

Grupp is the coordinator of Capitol Projects and Facilities Planning, and is in charge of overseeing this entire project.  The new building is scheduled to be open for occupancy by the Summer of 2013.

“All of the block work is done on the building,” said Grupp. “The interior block work is all done. Now they are putting up the brick fascia. The East side is about 90 percent complete; they have been working on the south side. The whole bricking should be done in about a month or so.”

Grupp said that at this stage in the construction it seems like the building will look a little more complete everyday, but once all of the exterior work is done that will change.

“At this time it seems like a lot of work is getting done on the outside, but once we start working on the inside it will seem like nothings getting done,” Grupp said.

There have been no accidents or injuries in 250 days as of last week, and safety is Grupp’s main concern during this whole process.

“ On Monday, the air conditioning system for this building is going on the roof. It’s a big deal,”  Grupp said. “There is going to be a big 275-ton crane here and there are going to be four trailers sitting outside Welte hall.  We will have people directing and guiding the trucks so that no one gets too close.”

The construction of the new academic building is just one of 36 projects that are a part of a comprehensive long-term capital infrastructure investment plan known as CSUS 2020. All of the 36 projects are valued to cost around $950 million dollars.

Each of the four schools that make up the Connecticut State University System will be getting new buildings and updating old onces, but CCSU will be recieving over $200 million for its own projects. That includes the new academic building, a new dormitory, a new dining hall, a new public safety building, and updates to both Willard and Dilereto Hall.

The new academic building is set to cost $38 million dollars, and according the Grupp, the project is right on budget.

In an article in the Hartford Courant,  Salvatore Cintorino, the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Facilities Management at CCSU, explained why these updates are important for CCSU.

“Students are very impressionable by the quality of a campus. These buildings are going to help support academic and student needs and help market the campus,” said Cintorino.

College officials say the investments are helping to address long overdue renovations and repairs. The overall goal is to upgrade facilities to allow schools to become more competitive in attracting top student talent.