As Ithaca College begins to implement IC 20/20, the college’s 10-year strategic plan, administrators are scoping out possible spaces on campus to meet space demands.The Office of Residential Life has announced that by the end of September, Terrace 13 will no longer function as a temporary residence hall. The college is exploring the possibility of using the temporary terrace building to house offices for IC 20/20 projects.
Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration, said the college needs space for an advising center and the Center for Faculty Development, which are critical components of the IC 20/20 initiative.
“That’s a building that is there and available to us,” he said. “So we thought that if you stop to think about it, the size of student residence halls in there can easily accommodate an office and maybe even an office for two people in some cases.”
However, the college would need to adhere to the different codes that exist for office buildings when compared to residential buildings.
“For example, using an office building would require putting an elevator or some kind of lift into the second floor,” Sgrecci said.
Moving the philosophy department, which is part of the School of Humanities and Sciences, out of the Roy H. Park School of Communications is also a priority, Sgrecci said. However, this department may not end up in Terrace 13.
The Hill Center, which is beginning renovations this fall, is also being looked at as a potential location for offices. Hill Center renovations are expected to be completed by December 2013.
“We had hoped that the Hill Center would be under construction by now, but the cost estimates are coming in higher than we had anticipated,” Sgrecci said. “So we had to go back rethink what we are doing and how we are going to do it.”
The college is also in the process of renting a small area in the basement of Center Ithaca, previously occupied by Cinemapolis, to store equipment. The new space, Sgrecci said, will replace space the college used last year at the South Hill Business Campus.
Terrace 13 was erected in the summer of 2009 to temporarily accommodate a larger-than-expected incoming class. Originally, the building was to cease functioning as a residence hall in the summer of 2013.
Bonnie Solt Prunty, director of residential life and judicial affairs, said a reduced number of returning student residents and an incoming class that was slightly smaller than anticipated prompted them to clear Terrace 13 of students a year earlier than scheduled.
“When we finished returning-student housing selection, we had less than 20 returners who were signed up to live in Terrace 13,” she said.
Currently, there are 22 first-year students living in Terrace 13, and they will be relocated a few weeks into the fall semester so the building can undergo the renovations it needs.
Students living in Terrace 13 have been offered a rebate of $720 because of the temporary housing.
Freshman Qiping Shen was put in a double room in Terrace 13 this year, but she was notified from the beginning it was only temporary.
“They said T-13 was the temporary so we have to move out, and they’ll choose the room for us before October,” she said.
Shen said while moving is not too problematic, she will miss the atmosphere.
“[Moving out] It’s no bother but I’m a little sad because people there are very nice,” Shen said.
Terrace 13 will continue to be a temporary structure, therefore making any offices located there temporary as well.
Another temporary building on campus is the Administrative Annex next to the Park School, which has a permit until 2018.
Sgrecci said the college is seeking space on campus because using existing space is less expensive than renting buildings off campus or adding on more space. However, there are only a few options on campus.
“We are basically maxed out in terms of our office space at the present time,” he said.
