In conversation with The Pace Chronicle, William McGrath, Senior Vice President and COO for Westchester, discussed the Master Plan’s progress over the summer, the plans for this and next semester, and some of the renovations scheduled for Pace’s Pleasantville campus.

According to McGrath, this past summer the construction efforts focused on four things: the new environmental center, the renovations for Kessel, the pond, and the new road to the gym.

The construction of the new environmental center was a priority, since its former location prevented the start of the work on Residence Hall A, known as Alumni Hall.

Although construction of the environmental center was originally projected to be complete by the start of this semester, it was delayed because of last winter’s temperatures and conditions. However, McGrath said, this had no major overall impact on the Master Plan, and the center should be ready by winter break.

The present adjustments to Kessel were also a main concern, because dining services had to be ready for the start of classes. Looking to the eventual consolidation of the Briarcliff and Pleasantville campuses, Kessel’s renovation is a top priority for the same reason.

Choate Pond was a big part of the summer’s schedule, due to the large amount of work that went into dredging and draining it. According to McGrath, 7,200 cubic yards of mud had to be removed from the pond, 35 at a time—all of which was a noisy and dirty process.

In order to minimize impact to the pond’s environment, McGrath said, Pace hired William Kenny Associates, an ecological services firm based in Fairfield, CT. This firm trained workers on how to carry on their work with minimal disruptions to the wildlife—such as a family of ducks whose fledgling could not flight, but eventually took off on their own.

Additionally, he explained that as the pond’s water was drained, most of its wildlife fled downstream to the Taconic River. Workers also had to move a few turtles, and a particularly big one was taken to Opperman’s Pond.

Completion of work on Choate Pond has taken more time than initially planned due to the manufacture of the pond’s new outlet control structure, which was late. The outlet control structure—its installation the reason why Miller circle closed last weekend—resembles a dam, and, according to McGrath, will allow the pond’s depth to be regulated and thus affect the formation of algae on its surface.

The construction of the new circulation pattern to the gym had to be completed, McGrath said, in order to ensure the access of emergency services to all buildings.

Looking ahead in preparation for winter, McGrath said that by the time winter break comes, the “shell” of Kessel’s expansion should be ready, which will allow for interior work to proceed over the winter.

Likewise, the foundations and the first floor’s exterior of Alumni Hall should be ready for winter break. Alumni Hall will then be built using modular units, McGrath said, which are large pre-fabricated sections that, once brought to Pace, will be connected to each other. This, McGrath said, will reduce on-site work.

Along with Kessel and the new buildings, other parts of the Pleasantville campus will undergo changes.

The new parking lot space beside Choate House will be available for faculty and also for students, said Aisha Moyla, Director of Administration and Communications.

The area in front of Vineyard Building—behind Dyson Hall—is being transformed to accommodate a softball field; since Pace’s current one is in Briarcliff.

Willcox will also be renovated, as the Department of Media, Communications, and Visual Arts expands with two new majors, digital journalism and digital filmmaking, McGrath said.

A soundstage has already been completed on the third floor of Willcox as part of the renovations, Moyla said, and a new Mac lab and classrooms for the fine arts program are also scheduled. Willcox gym will be split into two separate spaces: a lecture hall with 150 seats, and a multipurpose space, mostly for social events.

As for next year, McGrath said that Kessel’s expansion should be ready to open in the spring. Two athletic fields, a baseball field and a multipurpose field—for lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, and football—should be completed during the spring semester. The new field house and Alumni Hall should be ready for Fall 2015.

Other new features still a long way off are Residence Hall B and a new Welcome Center.

McGrath urged students to be careful around the construction sites, and stressed that construction workers are not allowed to talk to students, nor are they allowed on the residence halls.

According to McGrath, this will be the most disruptive semester of the Master Plan construction. But the outcome for students and student life, he said, “will be fantastic.”