Syracuse University’s National Veteran Resource Center is on schedule to open in early spring 2020, SU officials announced at a Wednesday press conference.

The $62.5 million center will consolidate the university’s veteran services — including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the university’s ROTC programs and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs — into one 115,000 square foot facility. Military-connected students make up 5% of SU’s student body, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, on Wednesday. 

Veterans attending higher education institutions can feel like they cannot find people with similar experiences on their college campus, Haynie said, which can make them feel like they don’t belong at their university.

“One of the powerful things that this facility will do is give them a unique sense of connection to the institution, a home,” Haynie said.

Dan Lyon | Asst. Photo Editor

Once completed, the center will feature an auditorium with more than 700 seats — the largest convening space at SU — as well as classrooms for both ROTC students and the rest of the campus community, Haynie said. There will also be a 3,700 square foot event space, an information lab and resource centers for student and regional veterans.

A grass parade field for the university’s ROTC programs will also be placed on the top floor of the center, Haynie said. 

He said the NVRC will be the most accessible building built by SU and that it “set the standard” for how SU moves forward with accessibility. Ramps will be positioned around the building, the auditorium will not have any steps and floors will feature tactile maps, he said.

The center is also expected to have a regional impact. While generating $300 million in regional economic activity in five years, the center is expected to create more than 300 direct and indirect jobs, according to information from the press conference. Each year, the center is expected to train and support 40,000 veterans.

A soon-to-be major tenant of the NVRC, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, provided programs to around 26,000 veterans and military family members across the country last year, Haynie said on Wednesday. Those programs were not related to being a student at SU, he said.

The NVRC was first announced in 2015, but construction on the facility did not begin until early 2018. In 2016, SU chose SHoP Architects to design the center after a six-month design competition. 

Dan Lyon | Asst. Photo Editor

Ten contractors are currently working on the center, with a total of 80 to 90 workers depending on the day, said Mike Woodin, superintendent for LeChase Construction Service, a Syracuse-based construction company that is leading management efforts for the center’s construction. About 40 contractors and vendors are involved with the center overall, he said. 

Tenants will be able to begin moving into the NVRC facility this December, Wooding said. The project saw some challenges with steel installation due to cold, windy and icy weather conditions last winter, but it remained on track despite those challenges, Woodin said. 

Crews are currently installing pipes and ductwork, putting up glass installations around the center’s third floor and begging the building’s exterior facade, Woodin added.

Haynie said that part of SU’s aspiration is to be the best university for veterans in the United States. SU is currently ranked as the No.1 private school and No. 4 school overall for veterans, as determined by the Military Times’ annual Best for Vets rankings. 

“What this facility really does is plant a flag for this university that we’re in this for the long haul,” Haynie said. “It’s something that we’re going to be committed to for the long haul.”

Published on May 15, 2019 at 10:22 pm

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