Manhattan College is getting a serious makeover.
While students are off, on internships, summer jobs, vacations or even just spending time in their hometowns with friends and family, Jasper Nation is filled with bulldozers and hard hats.
“We are carrying the design theme from the small quad out front, to Walsh Plaza,” Andy Ryan, VP of facilities said, “In early 2011 there was a design plan to rework the front of the College, the Quad and then Walsh Plaza.”
The idea, Ryan said, was to create more of a streamlined look across campus. The Quad, in addition to the existing octagonal pavers, will also get a set of bluestone and rectangular pavers along the perimeter.
The extra stone will make the main quadrangle on North Campus a large-scale model of the quadrangle in front of Memorial Hall.
Walsh Plaza on the other hand will make a drastic change from how students remember it.
“Because it’s a much bigger area,” said Ryan, “Surrounding the grass is a layer of bluestone, and then inside of the bluestone is rectangular pavers and then octagons al over the middle area.”
The pattern will be several sets of rectangular pavers, surrounding octagonal ones.
This is the second phase of the renewal project, according to Ryan, and soon after, the College will begin renovations on the road from Thomas Hall to the eighth floors of Horan and Lee Hall.
Walsh Plaza, Ryan said, is well ahead of schedule while the Quad is taking longer.
“I don’t want to say [the Quad] is behind schedule, because the schedule always changes a little bit,” he said, “what was the first phase got changed around a little bit and now they are completing parts of what was supposed to be in Phase Two now.”
However, neither project is expected to extend past the summer break.
“They both should be finished—or at least usable—before students come back,” Ryan said, “so about the middle of August.”
Inside Draddy, however, is a story all its own.
In addition to the complete servicing all three sections of hardwood have received, Athletic Director Noah LeFevre tweeted on June 8 photos of a brand new paintjob for all three courts in Draddy Gymnasium.
The new look includes the center court, painted entirely green, with the exception of the Jaspers logo at center court and the area inside the 3-point arc as well a volleyball specific design for the front and back courts.
“What you find in our conference is that the basketball and volleyball teams play on the same court so it’s hard to have volleyball artwork,” LeFevre said, “We just wanted to make the court scream volleyball.”
However, the Athletics Department did not forsake the non-athlete students on campus, maintaining basketball lines on both courts and keeping the gym open for student use.
The new, unorthodox paintjob for the basketball court, though, is the real highlight of the Draddy updates.
“I truly believe that nothing says Manhattan College like the color green,” he said, “and so when we set out to create a new look it was done with the intent of, you know, what can we do to show that we own the color green?”
The court should be finished in two weeks, in time for summer basketball.
“We just wanted to get it finished,” LeFevre said, “we just want to get it out there and ready to go.”