The pounding of jackhammers echoing inside of a gutted building. Bright-colored caution tape announcing dead-ends and reroutes. The past year has brought many new construction projects, recharacterizing the sights and sounds commonly associated with campus. Much progress has been made to address previous issues and projects and new plans have been set for the 2024 year.

The most recent project most students are familiar with is the c

losing of the sidewalks between the Scranton Commons, Kehr Student Union and Carver. The closure was due to an emergency streamline repair that has since been completed. Brand new underground piping systems have been installed successfully fixing the extensive damage that was discovered. The sidewalks will be open for use this semester.

The renovation of the McCormick Center for Human Services building has continued to make significant progress. The renovation is anticipated to be completed spring of 2025.

“It looks like everything is on track. We don’t foresee anything [impacting that],” said Assistant Director of Facilities for Planning and Construction, Emil Mikle.

Mikle says that a lot of work has been done on the third floor including most of the framing being completed, drywall being put up and new windows being installed. With these big pieces of the project coming together, students will be able to see the building begin to transform into its newly innovative state as they wander the quad.

Other projects have been planned to begin around May, according to Mikle. Kehr’s multipurpose room will be getting new partition walls to keep up with their constant use. Chick-fil-A will be getting upgrades to their equipment including grills and fryers. Commons will be getting a new waffle station area. The tri-level parking lot is scheduled to be resurfaced. Hartline Science Center will be receiving a new chiller and cooler tower.