construction

Last West Campus House Named for Flora Rose

Ben Eisen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Seven years and $225 million after construction began, every brick of the West Campus Housing Initiative is in its place. One of the final steps took place on Friday with the announcement that the last house — formally House 5 — will be named in honor of Flora Rose, a nutrition professor and founder of the College of Human Ecology.

In a ceremony on Friday, Edna Dugan, assistant vice president for student and academic affairs and a Becker House fellow, announced the decision to name the house after Rose.

“We have investigated many, many deceased faculty’s biographies,” Dugan stated in a press release. “So it is so fitting that House Five should become Flora Rose House ... to recognize her legendary status in Cornell history.”

Weill Hall on Track for Ofﬁcial Oct. Opening

Abubakar Jalloh — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

High-tech shared research facilities and innovative laboratories are just a few of the features the newest addition to the Biology Quad and the most technologically advanced research facility on campus, Weill Hall, sports. The building is set to officially open on Oct. 16, although some labs opened during the summer.

The establishment of a life science research facility has been “the highest priority for [the] University’s presidents since the early ’90s,” said Susan Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Until recently, the structure was called the Life Sciences Technology Center, but the name was changed after the Weill family’s $50 million donation to the building.

Crane Collapse Kills 2 in NYC

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:56:10 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — A construction crane collapsed Friday on New York's Upper East Side, smashing into a 23-story apartment building as it fell to the ground, killing two construction workers and seriously injuring another.

It was the second deadly crane accident in 2½ months and the latest of several construction mishaps in the city, which recently shook up its Building Department and beefed up inspections.

"What has happened is unacceptable and intolerable. Having said that, we do not know at the moment what happened or why," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference, adding that it appears the builders followed regulations.

Planning and Development Board Approves Statler Hall, Hoy Road Renovations

Ben Eisen — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

On Tuesday, the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board picked up where it left off last month by approving two proposals for Cornell construction projects.

The addition to the Campus Road side of Statler Hall’s Beck Center that a Cornell team proposed in March will now begin construction in September. Princeton, N.J.-based KSS Architects — which designed the Beck Center in 2004 — will design the addition in the same style by creating a glass and steel-based structure. The addition is expected to create more office and function space for the School of Hotel Administration.

MVR Construction Continues Despite Past Hurdles

Eve Waters — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The rumble of bulldozers is a familiar sound to most people on West Campus; however, it may come as a surprise to hear a ruckus coming from the College of Human Ecology’s Martha Van Rensselaer Hall.

Construction on the $77.7 million dollar addition began on Dec. 17 and is projected to take two and a half years to complete.

Gettin’ dirty: Workers continue construction on Martha Van Rensellaer Hall yesterday. The building is expected to be completed in 2010.The new addition, which will be approximately 88,000 square feet in size and will sit upon a 290 capacity car garage, will be added to the current west wing of MVR. One new feature will be a 5,300 square foot common area.

New Vision to Improve C-Town Cohesion and Business

Michelle Sun — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Amidst the controversial moratorium on Collegetown development, the Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee is moving forward to create a plan for future growth in the area. On Feb. 18, the CVIC will meet with Goody Clancy, the recently selected architecture firm that will be working on the project.

Last October, the Ithaca Common Council voted to halt approval of further development proposals in Collegetown in an effort to create a more cohesive design plan for the area. Since then, the CVIC has been collaborating with Goody Clancy, in addition to the real estate company WZHA and traffic firm Nelson Nygaard. Additionally, the University and the City each have donated $75,000 towards the planning process.

Building China

Rebecca Shoval — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:55:40 -0500

City in Transition: Construction cranes are everywhere in Beijing as the city continues a trend of rapid growth. Looking at all the construction in Beijing, we were left to wonder how any of the buildings could possibly be finished within six months (construction will be halted a few months before the games to allow time for the dust to settle). China apparently has developed methods for building incredibly quickly, as we toured a college campus built in a year and a half. 15,000 of Southeast University's 30,000 students now live and study on an approximately $220 million, 93 square mile campus that did not exist in 2006.

C.U. Accelerates West Campus Construction

Willimina Bromer — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If like many not-so-early-birds you’ve been snoozing through that 8:40 class, you probably should have dropped your class. Or lived on West Campus.

“It’s like a second alarm,” said Rachel Holloway ’10. “The construction starts at 8 a.m. every morning which is fine because it helps me get up. It’s really no inconvenience at all.”

Since construction on the West Campus Residential Initiative began in 2003, the “Class of” halls have all been demolished and three of the five new residential dorms — Cook, Becker and Bethe — now house students.

Construction on the remaining two houses was originally set to be completed in 2010, but is now scheduled for August 2008.

City Blocks New C-Town Construction Projects

Nathan Sermonis — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

After heated debate last night at City Hall, the Ithaca Common Council passed a motion to impose a 12-month moratorium in Collegetown — putting a halt on development proposals and proceedings in the community.

By a vote of 7-3, the Council resolved to suspend approval of new development proposals in Collegetown. This suspension aims to provide urban planners ample time to create a coherent design plan for the community without disruption from new projects.