BBS Architects Constructs SUNY Athletic Fields
VALHALLA, N.Y. — Construction has begun on the athletic fields and roadways at the Statue University of New York Westchester Community College. These fields accommodate recreational, physical education and training for competitive athletics for over 24,000 full-time, part-time and continuing education students.
The college encompasses 218 acres of the main campus, located in Valhalla, along with additional sites in Peekskill, Ossining, White Plains, Yonkers and Mount Vernon in New York. The new athletic fields in Valhalla will be 10 acres. The general contractor for the project is Mount Vernon, N.Y.-based Avanti Building & Construction and the structural engineer is the Nebraska-based office of Thomas Riley, PE.
BBS Architects and Engineers, located in Patchogue, N.Y., is in charge of the design and construction of the new athletic fields. “Following previous successful collaborations, SUNY Westchester Community College retained BBS’ landscape architecture and civil engineering division to design the $2.5 million improvements to the West Fields, Barrett Field, related buildings and pedestrian and vehicular roadways,” said Roger P. Smith, BBS President and Principal Architect, AIA, LEED AP in a recent statement.
The West Fields currently include a 3.7-acre baseball field and a 3-acre softball and soccer field. Construction in this area will involve re-constructing the baseball field for better orientation with the sun and to help it meet the current NCAA standards, repairs to the natural turf, re-grading the field and installing a new under-drainage system that will help improve the retention and dissipation of storm water. New construction will include a new backstop, player dugouts, a 24-inch by 8-inch Nevco Model 1506 scoreboard and an automatic irrigation system.
In addition to the renovations planned for the field itself, BBS is also planning to construct a two-story, 1,000-square-foot multi purpose building. This building will contain a concession stand, restrooms, utility rooms and a press box. “The structure will feature light gray, split-face block bearing walls, double hung windows, concrete slab on metal deck floors, shingle-covered pitched roof in the back, and a hip roof in the front,” said Joseph Rettig, BBS Director of Architecture, AIA, LEED AP.
Rettig also noted that the roof will consist of light gauge metal frame rafters. Two new sets of bleachers, eight feet wide and 40 feet long, will contain split-face block walls and a single-pitched roof. The entirety of the West Fields area will have new electrical, water distribution and sanitary sewer systems as well.
The 3.4-acre Barrett Field will also undergo renovations and construction. BBS plans to re-grade the field, install an under-drainage system and irrigation system, construct a new 12-inch by 5-inch Nevco Model 3502 scoreboard and build new bleachers next to the grandstand.
The new under-drainage systems will feature plastic collection chambers on crushed stone bases as well as perforated polyethylene pipes buried around the edge of the fields, according to John R. Longo, BBS Vice President and Co-Head of Site Planning and Design Group. “BBS also designed several overflow storm water retention basins, which will be landscaped and planted with indigenous plant species native to Westchester County,” he said.
Additional construction work will include building a new access point for emergency vehicles. This new driveway will create access between West Field’s baseball fields and the Knollwood Gate access drive. There will also be a new pedestrian path that connects West Field with the physical education building. These new driveways will help improve access to these areas for pedestrians and lessen the number of conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles in this area.