FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Officials at Sacred Heart University’s West Campus in Fairfield recently celebrated the groundbreaking for a new $70 million hockey and skating arena.

The 122,158-square-foot building will have “technologically enhanced” locker room amenities, fitness and training areas, as well as sports medicine and hydrotherapy suites. Additionally, as the facility will be geared toward training student athletes to be competitive for the NHL, the building will also have a rapid-shot puck room and facilities for videotaping practice. The arena itself is built to NHL specifications of 85 feet by 200 feet.

The hockey rink is a joint collaboration between JLG Architects, the SLAM Collaborative, Dimensional Innovations and Consigli Construction.

At the groundbreaking, SHU President John J. Petillo said that the new arena will be home to the university’s Division I men’s and women’s hockey teams as well as the school’s figure skating athletes.

“It is the continuation of a multi-year expansion program to support student growth, engagement and personal development,” Petillo said. “This facility will serve our student-athletes both on and off the ice.”

The president also thanked Frank and Marisa Martire, who donated $5 million to the construction cost, and in whose honor the building will be named. Frank Martire, a 1969 alum of Sacred Heart, currently serves as chair of Sacred Heart’s board of trustees, and also holds an interest in the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights franchise. Previously, the Martires also supported the Frank & Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts and Chapel of the Holy Spirit, both parts of the Sacred Heart campus.

“They give of their time, their talent and their philanthropy, which is extremely valuable to us,” Petillo said of the couple.

The first games at the new arena are scheduled to be played in January 2023. In addition to sporting events, the Martire arena will play host to various learning laboratories for SHU students studying hospitality, sports communication and management, media and marketing. Guest lectures, concerts and other activities will take place there as well.

“This arena will be a Division I intercollegiate skating cornerstone and one of the best in the Northeast,” Jim Barquinero, senior vice president of enrollment & athletics, said in a statement. In fact, it was Barquinero who founded the school’s hockey and figure skating programs in the 1990s. “In addition to providing a sophisticated and beautiful home venue for our teams, it will serve our entire university community and residents throughout the region,” he said.

“This is a historic day, not only for the university, but for our hockey programs,” added C.J. Marottolo, head coach of the men’s ice hockey team. “This arena has NHL amenities with a collegial feel. Our teams and students will have a place to call home, and that really fills my heart.”

“I’m so thrilled about having a rink on campus,” Lisa Fedick, head coach of the figure skating club, said of the project. “The university has tremendous commitment to figure skating and all ice sports. We’re looking forward to taking our program to premier status.”

Sacred Heart is the second-largest Catholic university in New England.

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TORRINGTON, Ct.—East Hartford’s Construction Solutions Group LLC has been tapped by the Torrington City Council to oversee buildout of a new combination middle and high school. According to the Register Citizen, the $157 million project was approved in a referendum that passed on Election Day, Nov. 3. Since that time, the Torrington building committee has been examining various bids for the buildout before settling upon the winner.

Construction Solutions Group will provide project management of both demolition of the existing structure as well as completing the new school and administration building, whose home will be 50 Major Besse Drive. Demolition of the old building will be part of the project’s second phase, as will completion of various site works and setting up of new athletic fields.

According to the Register Citizen, various plans were proposed to renovate the existing high school, but estimates for such a renovation clocked in upwards of $75 million, for which the city would have entirely on the hook. The paper further reported last year that the old school building was bedeviled with aging restrooms, ceilings that were beginning to fail and various other infrastructure improvements that were desperately needed. A feasibility study conducted last year by architecture firm Kaestle Boos came to the conclusion that it was better—and ultimately cheaper in the long run—to start from scratch with a new school rather than refurbish the existing one.

By opting for construction of an entirely new building, the city will see $85 million, over half of the construction budget, reimbursed. The remainder of the cost will be covered over three decades through a variety of property tax maneuvers, the Register Citizen reported.

In December, city officials selected the architecture firm SLAM Collaborative of Glastonbury to be the architect for the new school building.

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GLASTONBURY, Conn. – This spring, the renovation and addition to the 1906 Kent School Admissions Building marked the 17^th shovel in the ground for the SLAM Collaborative design and construction team on the Kent School campus, a private, co-educational preparatory located in bucolic north western Connecticut.

As part of this renovation project, the SLAM team has updated the front façade to replicate the original front entrance.

With a completion date slated for this fall, the renovation of the existing structure and excavation for the new addition began in March before the implications of the COVID-19 regulations were fully initiated. The SLAM Construction Services (SLAM CS) team has worked with the school to make the construction site safe for students, staff and subcontractors. The cost of this project is not being disclosed at this time.

This project has been selected by The Hartford Insurance Company as a pilot for Triax Technologies’ new Spot-r safety program that electronically monitors every individual on the construction site. The software allows the on-site superintendent to monitor location, falls and equipment use. In addition to this risk mitigating tool, SLAM CS has implemented all required construction site health precautions as per CDC guidelines.

The renovation to the original 2,500-square foot Admissions Building includes new windows, siding, roof, insulation, interior finishes, and sprinklers. The renovated space will feature a welcoming new waiting area with fireplace, a large new conference room, a new multi-level open stairway and elevator connecting to the new addition and upper floors.

The new 2,500-square foot two-story addition connects to the existing building with an elegant porch and patio, reflective of the school’s period architectural style. This entry level ties the two structures together and blends into the hillside and surrounding campus. The new addition will include admissions department offices and interview rooms, a small event space doubling as a conference room and a large interview room to support the growing demands of the department.

When the school was founded 114 years ago, the current Admissions Building, referred to as “Old Main,” was the original farmhouse on the property.”  At that time, it was home to the entire school of six students.

Over the years the house has undergone a series of evolutions. Originally it formed the core of a wood framed, white clapboard campus complex that was subsequently replaced by the brick Georgian campus, initiated in the 1920s and continuing to the present day.

In 1960, the building was moved down the hill to its current location near the main entrance to the campus. Due to complications with the move, the building was placed with the original front door facing the rear of the site.

The SLAM Collaborative is a national, multi-disciplinary design firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, site planning and structural engineering services. In addition, S/L/A/M Construction Services offers pre-construction, design build and construction management throughout the New England region. Its focus is on higher education, K-12 public/private education and other sectors.

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GROTON, Conn. — A recent groundbreaking celebration for the new $66 million Groton Middle School was attended by state and local officials, school administrators, teachers, project leaders, and community members in Groton on April 23, 2019.

Constructed by O&G Industries (O&G),and designed by the S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM). the estimated completion date for the 155,000 square foot project is summer 2020.

O&G, which is headquartered in Torrington, Conn., is a general contractor, construction manager, design/builder and specialty subcontractor with nearly 100 years of experience in commercial building, power plant, road and bridge and site construction. The company serves clients in educational, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, transportation, power and municipal markets throughout the U.S.

SLAM is a national, fully-integrated, multi-disciplinary architecture firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture and site planning, structural engineering and construction services that focuses on higher education, K-12 public/private education, healthcare and corporate market sectors. SLAM has offices Glastonbury, Conn., as well as in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, and Syracuse.

SLAM has completed programming, design, documentation, interior design, structural engineering, and cost estimating services for the school. Consulting Engineering Services, Inc. will provide mechanical, electrical and plumbing services, while Milone & MacBroom will provide site design and engineering. Guillen Technology Consultants (GTC) will provide AV/IT and security.

The new school launches the first of three projects in the Groton 2020 School Improvement Plan that will consolidate the middle school level, permitting the two existing middle schools to be repurposed as elementary schools.

Construction of Groton Middle School began in April on vacant land immediately north of the existing Fitch High School, forming a middle/high school campus.

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The recently completed 63,250-square foot, $21.7 million building, located on the Armstrong Campus, was programmed, planned and designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM), along with associated renovations to the existing 46,000-square foot Ashmore Hall.  The official ribbon cutting was held on Thurs., Jan. 3, 2019 with such dignitaries as Gov. Nathan Deal and Don Waters, chairman of Board of Regents in attendance.  Waters College is named for Don, an Armstrong State University alumnus and his wife, Cindy Waters, who donated $2 million for the building.

SLAM’s team of programmers, planners, and designers worked closely with key stakeholders in developing a program that incorporates a new Simulation Center with high fidelity simulation labs and a clinical exam suite designed to provide hands-on experience in a space that reflects real-world medical environments. The flexible simulation rooms house sophisticated human patient simulators linked electronically with a robust AV system for detailed and extensive debriefing and learning.  The clinical exam rooms feature a Sonography Suite.

In addition to the Simulation Center, the new building houses nursing skills and assessment labs in the 8,193-square-foot St. Joseph’s/Candler Nursing Suite on the second floor, a large active learning multi-purpose space, classrooms, open collaboration spaces, student study rooms, shared lounge space, and active learning / teaching labs that serve many of the university’s programs, including cardiovascular interventional sciences, radiologic sciences, nuclear medicine, medical laboratory science, respiratory therapy, and, communication sciences and disorders. The renovated Ashmore Hall houses the dean’s suite, faculty offices, administrative space, lecture hall, classrooms, respiratory therapy labs, and biodynamics.

 The Health Professions Academic Building is sited at the edge of a growing west campus, where a new densely wooded landscape was pioneered amidst a protected wetlands environment. Site water management was considered at every stage of the project to protect the ecology of wetlands, while strategically draining the gently sloping topography. The style of the new building is modern and distinct, yet in conformance with the existing campus design motif and palette.

The final site design achieves the contextual goals of the project: a building thoughtfully situated beneath a dense tree canopy with a strong connection to the main body of the campus.

Construction was provided by Holder Construction of Atlanta.

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The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) of Syracuse, N.Y., designed the $60 million, 105,000-square-foot academic- and research-oriented facility. The project is part of the NYSUNY 2020 initiative, which aims to jumpstart economic growth while also strengthening academic programs across New York State.

Spanning four stories, the facility will house approximately 36 new faculty members and staff and 240 students. It will include a variety of teaching and learning spaces such as state-of-the-art research and instructional labs, lecture halls, a pharmacy practice lab, and interactive classrooms that can be used for lectures, team-based learning and small-group work. A library, faculty offices, student activity spaces and support spaces will also be included, according to a statement by SLAM.

To support more hands-on education, the facility will additionally house compounding, pharmaceutical care and sterile labs, and mock community and hospital pharmacies as well as a state-of-the-art simulation lab. Nearly two entire floors of the building will be dedicated to research with high-tech research tools and equipment as well as high-throughput screening capabilities and large-data computing, according to a statement by SLAM. A medicinal garden will also be located outside the building.

“We look forward to this new facility which will provide optimal spaces to advance pharmaceutical sciences and educate future pharmacists,” said Richard Polvino, AIA, LEED AP, SLAM principal-in-charge on the project, in a statement. “We hope it will enrich the presence of SUNY Binghamton’s pharmacy program and ultimately impact healthcare across the state.”

The long-term plan for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences includes three phases. The first will establish the new school of pharmacy; the second will focus on an addition to the existing nursing program facility on the main campus; and the third will expand the university’s pharmacy school to accommodate more students and faculty.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo provided funding for the $60 million school in the state budget as part of a NYSUNY 2020 initiative, according to the project’s website. Upon its summer 2018 completion, the new building is expected earn LEED Silver certification.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences students will be able to participate in a four-year program to earn a pharmaceutical doctorate, and the school will also offer a Ph.D. program with courses taken in both pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice, culminating in clinical placements during the last three semesters. The school will further allow university graduates with a bachelor’s degree in biology or chemistry to earn a pharmaceutical doctorate in three years.

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“The master plan update is a crucial process that allows Cal Poly to create the infrastructure and environment necessary to support the university’s academic programs and advance its long-term vision,” said Cal Poly SLO President Jeffrey D. Armstrong in a statement. “Given its significance, we encourage those on campus and in the community to get involved and share their input.”

The master-planning process received a boost with a generous $20 million donation from former chief financial officer of Apple Peter Oppenheimer and wife Mary Beth, both Cal Poly SLO alumni, in particular. Not only was the Oppenheimers’ donation the largest in school history, it will finally allow the public university to make much needed changes.

Cal Poly’s last master plan was approved in 2001, but was not completed until 2013, when the school built its last project from that plan, which was a 189,000-square-foot math and sciences building. In a recent announcement, Cal Poly SLO officials expressed that they would like to key in on student housing, future programming and basic infrastructure, to name a few, but are willing to accept input from all members of the SLO community.

“We want the community to show us issues and concerns, then later next March, we’ll do this again and have materials to share and get reactions,” said Linda Dalton, university planning officer for Cal Poly SLO, in a statement.

Once this new master plan is finished, the committee will initiate a fundraising campaign in order to complete a plethora of additional projects. With the Oppenheimers’ gift in particular, school leaders plan to build a new Agricultural Events Center capable of supporting livestock events, industry activities, and the college’s experimental student learning programs. The Oppenheimer gift will also provide Cal Poly with a new partially enclosed and covered Equestrian Pavilion, as well as a farm store that will allow students to buy and sell fresh, farm-raised products on campus.

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