SUNY Cortland campus in New York to unveil Professional Studies Building

Spanning 20,000 square feet, the new building consolidates all the School of Professional Studies academic departments into one complex, with the exception of the Health Department and the Physical Education Department.

The two-storey Professional Studies Building is located on the existing parking area and part of the lawn on the east side of the former Studio West. It includes an $11 million new building as well as the complete renovation of the existing 43,000 square feet, one-storey former Studio West that features a brick-and-metal, contemporary-looking façade.

The new building’s first floor features an 8,000 square feet clinic for the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department, which was previously housed in the McDonald Building on Tompkins Street. The clinic includes an audiology chamber, observation and therapy rooms, a library and a resource area. A small, dedicated parking area is also featured. The Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department has also relocated to the new building featuring an outdoor education laboratory, a play teaching area and academic equipment staging and storage areas on the first floor.

The second floor spans 7,000 square feet and houses 23 offices and two department offices for Communication Disorders and Sciences as well as Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies.

The renovated building also includes the School of Professional Studies dean’s suite, the Sport Management Department, 21 offices and a special events room. The existing state-of-the-art sports technology labs had undergone minor alterations. The Kinesiology Department, with 18 offices, is located near the west end of the renovated building.

The middle area of the building features the 2,000 square feet Center for Obesity Research and Education department, featuring laboratory, testing room, library and resource area. A new motor behavior testing laboratory and computer lab have been featured in the area replacing the ones located in the Park Center and are located adjacent to the existing biomechanics lab, which also underwent minor upgrades.

Construction of the new building began in mid-November 2009, while renovation of the former Studio West facility began in March 2010. Both the new facility and the renovation were completed in time for the start of the Spring 2011 semester.

The building has also met Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification standards. It is partially heated and cooled by 40 geothermal wells that were dug 400 feet underground on the building’s west side.

M/E Engineering, P.C., of Syracuse, N.Y. were the project engineers. R.J. Taylor General Contractors of Penfield, N.Y., managed the construction and renovation projects.