Campus construction now tracked on new Web site

Which campus building projects are moving forward during the construction pause? A Web site that went live April 15 has the answers.

A link at CUinfo, under "Budget Resources," provides information on specific capital projects. The "2009 Authorized Capital Projects" Web site includes information on each project's scope, justification, funding and status. It currently lists 14 approved initiatives.

Only projects that are critical to the university's mission or safety and that have appropriate, approved funding have been cleared, said President David J. Skorton in an April 15 announcement. "While we will allow selected projects that meet these criteria to go forward periodically, the community should not expect any dramatic change in the pace of the approval process until the university's financial situation recovers."

The site is part of the administration's strategic plans to support the university's critical initiatives while maintaining its fiscal health. On Jan. 25, Skorton extended the construction pause, announced Oct. 30, 2008, through June 30 this year in order to conduct a thorough review of the priority of new capital projects and maintenance projects and recalibrate the university's capital budget to better align funding sources and proposed uses. Except for projects already ongoing when the pause began, all major construction on the campus has been suspended.

The latest approved list includes the replacement of Barton Hall's roof; expansion of the Cornell Rowing Center; refurbishment of a materials science and engineering lab at Duffield Hall; refurbishment of the KAUST-Cornell Center for Energy and Sustainability at Kimball Hall; an upgrade of two passenger elevators in Mary Donlon Hall; and alterations to the MacDonald Moot Courtroom in Myron Taylor Hall to provide access for the disabled and to update technology infrastructure.

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Joe Schwartz