Winter is not over yet at Stony Brook, but most of the key campus construction projects are soldiering on. Besides the construction of the new residence hall on Toll Drive, the renovation of the Pritchard Gymnasium pool and the completion of the new computer science building are still on track. While the Seawolves continue to brave the winter weather, project managers throughout the campus have accounted for the occasional snow day in their planning. In addition, when it comes to time delays and the expected dates for the completion of outdoor campus construction, managers cannot give a definitive answer until the weather breaks.

Toll Drive residence hall

The biggest construction project going on right now is the building of a new 757-bed residential building coupled with a 60,000 square foot dining facility on Toll Drive. The project will be completed in two phases—the first phase will see the addition of 302 beds and the dining facility, according to the Facilities and Services website. The second phase will add the other 455 beds. Due to the snow, the construction site is at a standstill and the project can expect to see a 30-day delay. “I don’t want to say there is nothing going on,” Louis Rispoli, associate vice president of facilities and services, said. “There are people working in the basement doing underground plumbing and mechanical work. But the steel has stopped, the decking has stopped, the second phase excavation has stopped. So for all intents and purposes it is really at a standstill, with exceptions of minor work by the mechanical team.”

Computer Science Building

The new computer science building has been under construction since September 2012. “The computer science building continues to work,” Rispoli said. “That’s because all the work that is being done is interior. They have full heating systems working at this point.” The building is expected to open spring of this year. The State University Construction Fund website and the Department of Computer Science website state that construction was originally supposed to be completed in summer or fall of 2014.

Pritchard pool

After much anticipation from students, the Pritchard pool renovations are finally underway. Because the renovation is taking place inside the Pritchard Gym, there is no snow delay. What students can expect from the gym is a new pool, deeper water lights, HVHC to control humidity, lighting, acoustics and tile. “It might have missed a day or two, but for the most part maybe a day,” Martin Ryan, project manager of the Pritchard pool, said. “They do a nice job on campus moving the snow. So you just keep moving along; get the job finished.” The pool renovations should be completed by December of 2016. Students should be able to swim by February or March.

Innovation and Discovery Center

Once construction starts on the Innovation and Discovery Center, it will become the largest project on campus, according to Rispoli, and will be located in the university’s Research & Development Park. In April 2014, the university received a $60 million appropriation from the New York State budget to construct and design this project. “It’s being built for a collaboration between research and start up companies, which the government has a program out there for it called START-UP NY,” Rispoli said. “We are currently awarding the design contract and we expect to start design this spring.” Once the construction is complete, the center will have 200,000 gross square feet of lab and office spaces. The space can then be used by start-up technology companies looking to take advantage of the START-UP NY benefits, according to a university press release.