Although Cornell is facing serious economic challenges resulting from the suspension of federal research grants, it is proceeding with a number of on-campus construction projects this summer.
Cornell boasts a remarkably large campus, evident not only in land area but also in its 13 million usable square feet of buildings. Some academic buildings such as Rand Hall and Carpenter Hall are very small, but there are a number of big buildings up to the 290,621 square foot Veterinary Medical Center. Some buildings, such as Atkinson Hall, are newly built, while Cascadilla Hall predates the founding of the University.
McGraw Hall
McGraw Hall has started on a $110 million gut rehabilitation, which will address structural concerns in the exterior and interior of the building. The renovation will also update various infrastructure systems. The building is one of the first constructed on Cornell’s campus, dating back to 1872. The entire interior will be removed and replaced with new floors and walls supported by a steel beam structure. Only the exterior stone walls will remain. In the meantime, the anthropology collection was moved to the basement of Olin Library and the faculty and grad students were moved to the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on West Campus.
A portion of the west side of the Arts Quad will be fenced off through 2027.
Meinig Field House
The $68.7 million project includes the construction of Meinig Fieldhouse, named in honor of the late Peter C. Meinig ’61, former chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees, and a separate outdoor turf field. Both will be located on Tower Road. The project also includes relocating Cornell’s field hockey facility to the Game Farm Road complex. Construction on the fieldhouse began in November with steel trusses already in place. The building is expected to be completed by Spring 2026.
Delays in obtaining permits for the field hockey facility resulted in at least one season where the field hockey team is left without a suitable field for home games.
Duffield Hall
The grass lawn at the southwest corner of Hoy Rd and Campus Drive will be the site of new construction for the Department of Electrical Engineering. The four-story, 46,340 square foot addition, with new research labs and instructional spaces, would connect to the existing Phillips Hall. In addition, the spaces within Phillips Hall will be renovated, with all of this financed by a $100 million gift from David A. Duffield ’62, MBA ’64.
Cornell has completed negotiations with the Phillips family so that the entire 300,000 square feet of the combined buildings will be named Duffield Hall, and the auditorium in the building will be named after Ellis L. Phillips ‘95. Once completed, Duffield Hall will take the ‘largest building on campus’ title away from the Veterinary Medical Center.
Continuing Projects
The War Memorial connecting Lyon Hall with McFadden Hall is in the second year of its rehabilitation. It was built in 1932 and commemorates Cornell’s 264 casualties during World War I. The project’s total budget exceeds $3 million.
McGraw Tower, attached to Uris Library, is nearing the end of its reconstruction. The scaffolding remained during both Commencement and Reunion, but all construction should be completed by the end of summer.
The Plant Sciences Building on the Ag Quad is undergoing a 30-month interior renovation expected to be completed in January 2026.
The middle portion of Sibley Hall was built in 1901 to connect the other two sections, East and West Sibley. For the past year, this middle section has undergone an extensive $10 million renovation that will include adding a large window on its north wall overlooking Fall Creek Gorge. A new 100-seat auditorium will be added under the actual dome, and studio space will surround it. The work includes new bathrooms and asbestos abatement. Leaks in the dome will be fixed. The Green Dragon Cafe will be restored to its current location after the work is completed.
Atkinson Hall is almost completed and was dedicated in April. The main remaining work is a water garden to be located on the northeast side of the building. All of the water from the downspouts draining the roof will flow into a new pond that will be decorated with special grasses and other water-based plants. The four story, 104,000 sq ft building costs $54 million. David R. Atkinson ’60 and Patricia Atkinson gave a $30 million gift.
The Bower Hall, which is being built on the site of Hoy Field, is a bit behind schedule. The 135,000 sq ft building costs $73 million. It is expected to open later this year.
Small Projects
Clark Hall is replacing the breezeway skylight and the elevators this summer. A catwalk was built across the roof of the two-story wing to allow access to the skylight.
A new field hockey playing field is being built on Game Farm Road to replace the field that is now the site of the Meinig Field House.
Delta Kappa Epsilon is getting a new electrical hookup and master circuit breaker panels.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is getting new boilers this summer.
