Barnard Hall is next on Central Connecticut’s radar to undergo a renovation with construction “shooting for spring break time” or around the end of spring in March, according to Directors of Facilities Management Sal Cintorino.

“From an academic standpoint and a recruiting standpoint, It’s important that we have facilities that meet and exceed the needs of our student population,” Cintorino said.

The highlight of Barnard’s renovation, the building originally built in 1953, is the addition of a 10,000-square-foot gathering space opposite Welte Garage. According to the KBE building corporation, which is the company working on the expansion with CCSU, the space will house “new offices and a space for student advising and student teaching.”

The renovation will also include replacing the building’s 30-year-old heat-transfer glass and windows, as well as other mechanics and heating and air conditioning. Cintorino explained that with Barnard’s current fixtures, maintaining the temperature of the building is “extremely difficult.”

Moreover, the building will be brought up to the standards required by the American with Disabilities Act.

A handful of new offices and new conference space is in the plans, too. Additionally, Cintorino said the building will look different aesthetically on the outside as well as on the inside. 

Once the $22 million renovation is finished by its projected completion date of Spring 2021, Cintorino said that the School of Education and Professional Studies and the Center for International Education will move back in to create a building that has its own “identity.”

“We’ve tried to create buildings that have identities to them so that you can really identify with the different buildings,” Cintorino said. “[They’re these] pods. We don’t want our students ping-ponging around campus.”

Cintorino stated that the purpose of the renovation is not only for Barnard to have a fresh look, but also for the building to be “sufficient to meet the needs of [CCSU] students” and to give faculty “flexibility” so that they can give their classrooms “the type of environment that they want.”

“The idea is that aesthetics are certainly important, but that mechanically, the building is sound,” Cintorino said. “The classrooms right now are what we call ‘cookie-cutter.’ They’re all the same square space. This will certainly have a different look to it.”

Barnard’s renovation is part of CCSU’s master plan, Cintorino elaborated, to create spaces that are home to certain departments so that students can have all of their major-related classes in one place. After Barnard, CCSU will continue that master plan through the creation of a new School of Engineering, Science and Technology building beside the Elihu Burritt Library.

“When you look at Willard-DiLoreto, it’s a one-stop shop,” Cintorino said. “There are very unique groups that are in there and all of the student services are in there now. The whole idea is to create these focal points that are associated with schools.”