Completion Expected in Next Two Years
BY CHRIS DOODY, NEWS EDITOR
The exterior of the updated Murphy building
Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure University
The collaborative space for student media
Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure University
The new Jandoli School online newsroom
Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure University
Construction on the upcoming addition to the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University is set to start in the coming weeks.
“The Jandoli School will finally have a facility that really fits the excellence of the school,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communications
The addition will combine all student media sources into one building.
“The new facility allows us to have The BV, [WSBU 88.3 FM] The Buzz, SBU-TV, TAP[into Greater Olean] and all of the student media will be able to work in one place,” said Chimbel. “They will all be relocated once the construction is complete, so those entities won’t be disrupted or offline again.”
The construction is expected to be started soon, said Chimbel.
“We’re in great shape; we are in the second phase of fundraising, so it’s really just the last little bit there,” said Chimbel. “We are about $2 million away from the goal; the working number [for the build and remodel] has been $12.2 million and were at about $10.2 or so million.”
We are currently looking to select a construction company, said Chimbel.
“Now it’s a matter of getting the bids from the construction companies,” said Chimbel. “So that’s kind of where we are now and doing some final design details.”
Construction is expected to take two years and be completed in 2027 according to Chimbel.
“Everybody wants [the construction] to get going, and I think we’ll be seeing stuff moving pretty soon,” said Chimbel. “Once we get to work, the timeline would be a year to year and a half for the addition, a later part of 2026 or early 2027.”
The construction progress will not have much of a negative effect on students, said Chimbel.
“The two biggest things that will affect students is the entrance, what we think of the main entrance will be obstructed and students and staff will have to go in from the rear entrance,” said Chimbel. “And of course the noise factor, but it’s a good thing most of the classrooms are towards the back of the building.”
The new extension will come out to around where the sidewalk in front of Murphy with the picnic table currently is, said Chimbel.
“This is really exciting for the Jandoli School, really transformative for the school, we’re excited to see it happen and to benefit the students,” said Chimbel. “We’re so thankful for the donors that have supported this completely donor-funded project.”
