As construction on the McGinley Center continues, students can expect the building’s entrance to change location in the coming weeks.

The doors on the side of the McGinley Center that lead to Lombardi Fieldhouse will serve as the primary entrance for the next 18 months to allow construction of the new building, said Marco Valera, vice president of Administration.

Throughout the next phases of construction, students can expect various changes in access doors. Valera said there will be work done soon on the west wing of McGinley Center to install electrical service.

Parts of the wing will be demolished to allow room for the new campus center building.

For the past five months, construction has been dedicated to updating the sewer and electrical systems connected to McGinley. Valera said this phase was particularly difficult as these systems ran through several buildings, including McGinley.

According to Valera, the construction is on schedule and will be completed by approximately fall of 2021.

“In addition to the new building at the campus center, the project will also renovate all sections of the existing McGinley Center, with new club space on the second floor, renovated ballroom and meeting spaces, renovated Marketplace and a food venue,” said Valera.

He also said the current post office will be moved to the garage, next to the Ram Van Offices and the Dagger John’s area and post office will be converted to a sports varsity center.

The renovations will also include a fitness center, arcade, Career Services space and special events space according to an article reported by the Fordham Ram in October of 2019.

Some students expressed concern over the ongoing construction at McGinley Center and questioned what was happening.

“I don’t understand what the purpose of the construction is,” said Julia Corbett, FCRH ’20. “I’m sure that in five years we’ll be grateful for the changes, but at the moment they seem to be causing endless traffic issues in front of McGinley,”

Annika Fagerstrom, FCRH ’21 said she was concerned about the lack of communication in general when it came to the construction on campus.

“The purposes of each project and how it will impact students throughout the semester isn’t well known,” she said.

Kelvin Buck, FCRH ’21, said it seems strange to make McGinley Center a priority for the foreseeable future instead of fixing other problems around campus, like the elevators in John Mulcahy Hall (JMH).

Although construction on McGinley began five months ago, Valera said the process started over a decade ago when the Ram Van center was moved out of McGinley and into the parking garage.

The physical construction took a while to begin because the administration was dealing with other priorities, said Valera. However, renovating McGinley has been a necessary project for 20 years.

The new student center is a project that will serve the whole community, according to Valera. This new space is expected to better accommodate clubs, student organizations and individual students.

“I’m excited to see what the new and improved McGinley Center has in store for us all —hopefully it’s something we can all use, otherwise it’s a waste of our tuition,” said Alex Go, FCRH ’22.