By Brian Bohl
Upon entering the University, visitors and students alike discover a dark-green chain-link fence around the University Club as it undergoes renovations, closing the building until early September.
Joseph M. Barkwill, the University’s vice president for facilities and operations, said the building will be undergoing its first restoration in nearly 30 years. Construction started in early January and is not scheduled to be completed until the start of the fall semester.
“New Year’s Eve was the last event held at the U-Club,” Barkwill said. “Immediately after that, we started abatement and demolition. All the stairs are out, the elevator and a lot of the walls are out.
“The schedule is to have the University Club back by September. It will be out of service through the spring semester and the summer.”
Among the changes will be the addition of more open lobby space by moving the stairs to the side of the main door. A new elevator will also be installed and the staircase will be enclosed with glass, giving the building a look similar to the New Academic Building that was completed last year.
“What was really needed was a modernization,” Barkwill said. “The U-Club is where you want to showcase the University. We are entertaining people from different areas. It’s great for business and networking and career advancement opportunities. We want alumni to come back and have an open place to have functions.”
Assisting Barkwill in overseeing the project is Alessandra Sumowicz, the University’s director for design and construction. Both school officials said the project `was in the planning and concept stages for close to two years before the University hired the Peter Gisolfi Associates architectural firm.
“We’ve never used them before, but they were recommended and we met with them,” said Sumowicz, who added that the University typically interviews five to six firms before making a selection.
“[Gisolfi] did a lot of great other projects like the Yale Club, that’s why we selected them to come,” she added. “We always look for architects that have an expertise in the field. We are never restricted by if we’ve used them or haven’t used them before.”
Barkwill declined to comment on the specific cost of the project, only saying that the price per square foot fell “within normal renovation costs on Long Island.”
“We just put out the bid, because each project cost is all-encompassing,” Barkwill said. “It’s the cost of the architect and the cost of construction. Part of our job is to do the renovation for as economically reasonable as we can.”
Once the project is completed, the administrators said the exterior thermal glass will allow for more natural sunlight that could lower energy bill costs.
“You use to walk in and ‘bam,’ the stairs were right there. It wasn’t a welcoming environment,” he said. “When you have natural light and glass, it brings more of a welcoming feel.” Sumowicz also added that the new design will appeal to the variety of people who utilize the building.
“This is very open, it’s user-friendly. It’s conducive to people coming in. It just has the classic look, even though it’s more modern in a way,” Sumowicz said. “This design is a compilation of numerous ideas put forth, but a real concept and a vision that his architect had.”
As for the interior changes on the second-level, Barkwill said the columns that adorn the roof in the banquet room will remain, along with the fireplaces. For at least the next seven months, the trustee meetings will be displaced to the Axinn Library’s 10th floor.
Other functions like the Distinguished Lecture Series will also be relocated to different venues.
The University Club will be closed for renovations throughout the spring and summer.