By Julian O’Connor, Chief Copy Editor
With the majority of the student body returning to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott Campus for the Fall 2022 semester, students may notice some changes to the buildings around campus and wonder if more are planned. There were, in fact, several construction projects that took place on campus over the Summer 2022 semesters, and there will be more as Embry-Riddle moves into the fall.
Perhaps one of the most obvious changes to take place over the summer was the renovation of Academics’ 1 (AC-1, Bldg. 74) first floor Atrium with porcelain tiles. According to Brad Sinn, one of the campus construction project team, the upgrade is supposed to give the Atrium a “modern look” and “add lasting durability to the flooring system.” Sinn says that upgrades to the second and third floors are “to come”.
Additionally, the “Q” parking lot in front of the Eagle Gymnasium (Bldg. 80) has been expanded to add 30 new parking spaces and a new light pole.
Some other construction and renovation projects also started over the summer, including a “large heating/cooling piping project in the Village ([Halls] 6-10)” and a remodel of the College of Business, Security, and Intelligence’s (CBSI) lounge (Bldg. 17). The remodel of the CBSI lounge will include “new paint, wall graphics, carpet, and furniture” to improve the “lounge atmosphere”.
Building 19, formally the Eagle Music Center, is being remodeled to offices, and the music program will move to the Davis Learning Center. The new offices contribute to the “new student union swap space plan”. New briefing rooms are also being installed at the “F1T” building on the Flight Line.
Some projects on campus will also begin this fall, including the re-roofing of AC-1, a “mostly new roof” for the Hazy Library, and the installation of “new boilers and hydronic piping” to the King Engineering building.
The last on-campus project to begin this fall is the “R2A Observatory Project”, in which Sinn says the University will be “expanding the observatory area and building infrastructure, with room and vision for growth in the astronomy program. We will be installing a new 20 inch telescope and dome, with additional area for a future one meter telescope and dome.”
All in all, students at Embry-Riddle Prescott have a lot to look forward to in terms of future construction, and they can already enjoy some upgrades to campus that hardworking people have built over the summer.
