Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Niagara University Completes Recreation Center Renovations

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/26/23

Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of $11.5 million in upgrades to the Kiernan Recreation Center, according to a news release. Renovations included an 18,000-square-foot, two-story addition that plays home to a weight room, dance studios, sports medicine suite, storage, locker rooms, team meeting spaces, and administrative space.

“The renovated Kiernan Center will provide our students, and the entire community, with a facility that anchors our commitment to excellence and touches every aspect of a student’s life on our campus,” said the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., Niagara University President. “The Kiernan Center enhances the living-learning environment for our students whether through academic programming, intramural and club sports, or as a place for students to maintain their physical well-being through individual or group exercise.”

The new facility features an indoor track, free weights, a swimming pool, basketball courts, an aerobic dance area, and other weight-training equipment. The facility sees about 2,000 individual users each week, the news release reports. It also includes academic space for the College of Education’s Special Olympics programming, theater students, sports management, and R.O.T.C. training.

Other renovations include replacing the front gym’s floor, renovations to Scaffidi gym, and infrastructure enhancements like the pool area’s filtration system, according to the news release.

Funding for the project came via a $1-million grant from the New York State Higher Education Capital (HECap) matching program, other private donations, and university investments. The university partnered with LeChase Construction Services on the project.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Dallas-Area District Debuts Three New Facilities

    The Duncanville Independent School District in southwest Dallas, Texas, recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for three new facilities that resulted from a $170-million bond program passed in 2023, according to a news release.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.