University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

John and Editha Kapoor Hall, under construction on the South Campus as the new home of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is one of numerous projects under way on UB's three campuses. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE

• Print

• Comments (1)

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: July 28, 2010

As the saying goes, there are two seasons in Western New York: winter and construction season.

That certainly is the case at UB. More than $377 million in projects currently are under way on the North, South and Downtown campuses. And an estimated $200 million in project work is in the planning and design stages, and slated to begin over the next three years, according to Kevin Thompson, director of facilities planning and design.

While many of the projects are high-profile—among them construction of John and Editha Kapoor Hall and renovation of the UB Child Care Center on the South Campus, construction of Greiner Hall and the new engineering building on the North Campus and construction of the new Educational Opportunity Center and Clinical Translational Research Center and Biosciences Incubator on the Downtown Campus—much of the work is less-flashy, but still critical. This includes millions being spent on such things as exterior masonry repairs, elevator upgrades and roof replacements—work that Thompson calls “critical maintenance.”

This critical maintenance work “fulfills a primary goal of Facilities to maintain buildings in a weather-tight condition and keep building systems functioning,” he says. “This enables the outstanding faculty and staff at UB to deliver instruction to students and conduct their research in facilities conducive to these types of activities.”

All projects are being funded by New York State through previous years’ budget cycles, Thompson notes, adding that very little support is coming from private donors. While Greiner Hall is considered to be “privately funded,” UB took out a loan to construct the building and student room fees will pay the debt service on that loan, he says.

Among the critical maintenance projects under way on UB’s three campuses:

North Campus:

• $2.8 million to replace the cooling tower, Baker Chilled Water Plant.

• $4.48 million to replace elevators in 11 buildings across the campus.

• $4.1 million to replace 10 air handling units in Hochstetter Hall and various buildings in the Ellicott Complex.

• $5.2 million to replace roofs on seven buildings across the campus.

• $11.5 million to replace and upgrade site lighting and public security enhancements across the campus.

• $3.2 million to upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in Capen, Norton and Talbert halls.

South Campus:

• $6.2 million in HVAC improvements and roof replacement, Biomedical Education Building.
• $8.5 million to decommission the BMRC nuclear reactor.
• $5 million for infrastructure, code and exterior renovations, Clement Hall.
• $9.2 million to renovate the third and fourth floors, Farber Hall.
• $2.7 million for masonry restoration and $7.5 million for building-wide restoration, Kimball Tower.
• $9.3 million for underground utilities/site restoration, South Campus.

Downtown Campus:

• $200,000 to replace electrical panels, Research Institute on Addictions.
• $500,000 to replace the fire alarm system, RIA.

For detailed project maps featuring lists of construction projects on all three campuses, click here.