Students will have limited access to Buckman Hall this summer as construction begins on the first phase of the Bergami Innovation Center.

“Initial enabling work” will begin on Buckman Hall after commencement to allow future laboratory renovation, said Louis Annino, associate vice president for the office of facilities.

“One of the things that we have long recognized is the need for appropriately-designed science space,” said Annino.

Eventually, all utilities needed for labs in Buckman Hall and the innovation center will be housed in a stand-alone structure. Construction will begin mid-summer, followed by construction on the innovation center. When students return in the fall, the Kaplan parking lot will be closed and additional periphery parking will be available at North Campus, the Atwood, and a new lot at One Care Ln. There will also be a shuttle route around campus and all parking lots.

“The kind of work that we’re doing in this part of the campus and the amount of work that we’re doing is unprecedented in the history of the University of New Haven,” said Annino. “The outcome of this project is transformational, it’s a game-changer for us.”

Although Buckman Hall will be a construction site, limited access will be permitted because the construction is less intrusive. Select students will be permitted to use the lab based on a list being supplied by the College of Engineering. Annino said he does not anticipate any issues with coordinating student access. Next summer will include more intrusive construction, and pose a larger obstacle to summer lab use.

“The students are our primary responsibility,” said Annino. “We’re going to make every effort to accommodate whatever the students and academic needs are to the greatest extent possible.”

The faculty in Buckman Hall will be given satellite offices alongside the construction crew throughout the summer to better facilitate communication. Annino said there has been a lack of information shared with faculty due to a lack of concrete details about the project.

“There’s a lot of people out there that probably were skeptical about whether this was all going to come together,” said Annino.

As for next summer, Annino said the building on Care Ln. may “very possibly” be an alternative to offer students summer lab space. Construction is currently taking place on the facility at One Care Ln., and it’s first occupants, the center for analytics, will move in by May 1. This construction is happening in stages, with the last one being off-site research labs.

“This is going to be a very challenging period for us and it’s going to be a very exciting period at the same time,” said Annino. “There’s still a lot of things that we’ve got to work through.”