The Fall 2023 semester is underway on campus, but while the student body was home for the summer, the CEER construction team was hard at work making significant progress on the CEER transformation project. When the initial plans were released last year, the projected finish date was fall of 2024. Significant progress has been made and the new projected finish date is spring of 2024, with an official move-in anticipated to begin in the summer of 2024.
Over this past summer, the construction crew was successfully able to complete the initial installation of the project, replacing the roof and completing Phase 1 of the project. The construction progress is visible from all around campus, as the building frame has expanded significantly and the walkways in front of Tolentine Hall leading down to Campus Corner have been reworked to accommodate the expanding construction site. There have been information releases on the specifics of the renovation. The exterior has been mostly completed, so the focus is being moved to the interior. Phase 2 will begin this fall and involves installing precast panels and windows into the new portions of the building. This is significant progress and many students are getting very excited to see the new building when it is open. The renovations will create more space for the Engineering Department and will allow for offices and departments within engineering to be relocated into CEER from Tolentine. There will be more collaborative spaces, labs, classrooms and study spaces. The lab space is projected to increase significantly, allowing for more research. Within the new building, there will be designated spaces for graduate students, improving their Villanova experience, as well.
The renovations are very exciting and looking into the near future, there are some restrictions and dates regarding CEER that the students and faculty should be aware of. The next few months will be geared towards landscaping improvements, as well as elevator and bathroom renovations that will close down those aspects on the 3rd floor from the end of August through the third week in October. Following those dates, the 2nd floor will be closed from October through the first week of December to renovate those same areas. From December through May, the focus will be on the office renovations in the existing portion of CEER, with the expansion construction projected to be completed in the spring. The anticipated move-in for faculty and staff is around May and June, while completing renovations over the summer of 2024 before opening the building for classes in the fall of 2024. This is an amazing project for the University and will not only improve the Engineering Department, but will create a new, updated space for all students.
