Sibley Hall Renovation to Bring Services Under One Roof

August 12, 2015

Sibley Hall on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus is slated for not only a face lift but also a floor lift as crews renovate the space to accommodate the college’s clinics, community programs and psychology department.

As part of the extensive two-year capital improvement project, workers will add a second floor in the space where the gymnasium now sits. According to Rick Larche, SUNY Plattsburgh capital project manager, the entire south end of the building will be renovated. Departments and offices there now include the Third Age Adult Day Center, Environmental Health and Safety, and the old North Country Teacher Resource Center — the space used as the library for the building when it was the old Campus School. A small component of the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Program will be included but not enough to affect the program’s ability to function during the academic year, Larche said.

Third Age Center Changes

Phase 1 or of the project involves renovating the current North Country Teacher Resource Center space. Once ready, that area will be used for the Third Age Adult Day Center. Third Age is a specialized program for people with dementia and/or memory loss from Alzheimer’s-type diseases. It also provides services to physically frail elders or aging individuals who require assistance with activities of daily living.

Phase 2 involves other areas of the building currently occupied by the gym, EHS and Third Age. Access to the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Program, which includes Samuel D’s, will remain open from the Rugar Street entrance.

The gym, which had been used by intermural teams, will be taken off line and replaced with offices and clinic space for the psychology department. Additional classrooms, computer labs, a resource library, bathrooms, assessment and testing rooms, and an activity room for the Nexus Autism Spectrum Program for children with autism spectrum disorder will be incorporated in this area, Larche said. A second floor will be added in the gym space to accommodate these changes. In addition, the roof will be replaced in these areas as well.

Changes to Back of Building

“Outside, in the back of the building by the large parking lot, is going to look completely different,” Larche said. “The first thing people will notice is the different face of the building. They will be cutting openings for windows, installing hand rails and changing parking that leads up to the building.”

There will be a “store front” entrance with a canopy, which will mark the entrance for the clinics, Larche said.

The Sibley Hall renovation program will bring clinics that serve the public as well as provide experiential learning for students under one roof. In addition to Third Age and Nexus, those programs and clinics include the Speech and Hearing Center, Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center and the Traumatic Brain Injury Center.

Construction is slated to begin this month with a target completion date of summer 2017. For more information on the project, contact Larche at 518-564-5097 or [email protected].