For most Oswego State students, Tyler Hall has not always been surrounded by a fence. The progress of its renovations hit a turning point as the building nears its scheduled opening in fall 2016.
“We are putting things back together,” said Bob Lloyd, Oswego State senior project coordinator. “We were in a long demolition phase and now things are being rebuilt and we are headed in the right direction.”
Walking into the building, there is a lot of activity as construction workers build new configurations to complement the needs of Oswego State’s art, music and theater departments, according to Lloyd.
The exterior of the building, including the roof, is nearing completion. The new structures, currently on top of Tyler Hall, are mechanical rooms which used to be located in the basement. They were moved to the roof to allow for more room in the building for classrooms and other necessities.
“We have recently started painting on the second floor and framing is being completed,” Lloyd said.
In terms of the timeline, the second floor is the first priority to complete.
The construction started in June 2014. Prior to construction, professors across all three departments came together during the programming phase to discuss what students would need in the function and requirements of the design of the building.
Sound proof music classrooms, glass window siding in a larger lobby and a change in the location of the entrance and ticket booth are some of the many anticipated features.
The most drastic changes to the building is the relocation of the south gallery to accommodate a cut-out from the first floor to the basement, complete with a modern structure descending from the ceiling to improve the acoustics for the orchestra rehearsal room.
The Waterman Theater incorporates two more aisles with the replacement of about 45 less seats. Some of the back row seats are removable for wheelchair access.
According to Lloyd, there were a few unforeseen conditions that hindered the construction process, such as asbestos.
“There were minor delays with finding asbestos where we weren’t expecting,” Lloyd said. “There was asbestos in the building that was on our drawings to move but there was some that was not on our drawings that we found.”
Once asbestos was found and identified, construction had to be stopped in that specific area and evaluated, Lloyd said.
Due to these setbacks, the original completion date of December had to be delayed until April 2016, but the building will not be opened for classes until fall 2016.
“We would have finished so close to the semester start that they would have not had enough time to really learn how to use the building,” Lloyd said.
As renovations head into the winter months of next semester, weather is no longer a concern in completing the project and students should be noticing the changes in the campus’ sole art academic building.
