Excavation on the Sims Hall Department of Public Safety Communications Center began over Winter Break, joining a few other campus construction and maintenance projects.

The construction will enhance and improve the communications center, allowing for five dispatchers, a conference room and an office, said Michael Kearns, manager of DPS technology services, in an e-mail. 

When finished, the center will utilize technological upgrades, including a wall of televisions for the campus-wide closed-circuit TV system and state-of-the-art communications technology with 24-hour generator backup, along with increased space for dispatch operations, according to the DPS website.

The area will be much more efficient for the responsibilities of the dispatchers, Kearns said. The dispatchers will have more space to work with after the construction is completed.

The center is being built by the locally-owned Hayner Hoyt Corporation, the company that renovated Slocum Hall and constructed the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, according to the DPS website. The structural outline of the communications center is scheduled for completion by March 2011.

The communications center, set to be fully completed in the summer, is being built in the open courtyard space between Sims Hall and Lowe Art Gallery, said Jenn Horvath, public information officer for DPS. The area was chosen because it was the closest available space to DPS’ existing location in the basement of Sims. The Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction is overseeing the budget and construction for the project, Horvath said.

Creation of the center was needed because of space issues, Horvath said. DPS has been expanding since Tony Callisto became chief of DPS in 2007, she said. When Callisto was inducted, the number of officers was at about 50. Now there are almost 80 officers, and more administrative positions have been added. Horvath herself was hired in the last year.

‘We’re really cramped inside DPS,’ Horvath said.

Other construction projects that were set to occur over break included working on Bowne Hall public spaces, renovating Smith Hall for studio and office space, and renovating the basement in Lyman Hall, according to an article published by The Daily Orange on Dec. 8.

brvannos@syr.edu

Published on January 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Breanne: brvannos@syr.edu | @bre_vann