Linda House, chair of the communicative disorders and sciences department, announced that the department is planning to move to Doty Hall after renovations are made to the building.
The college presently owns Doty Hall, which was once the K-12 school building for the village of Geneseo. Space is leased to the Developmental Disabilities Services Organization, which uses the building as a day center for adults with developmental disabilities.
Though the college has been considering reconstructing the building for academic use for nearly a decade, the DDSO will remain housed in the ground floor of the building regardless of the college's plans.
House said that Kliment Halsband Architects will design the second floor of Doty, and noted that the company's blueprints have been effective in accommodating the desires and needs of the communicative disorders and sciences department. The design includes multiple classrooms, clinic rooms, auditory suites, conference rooms and waiting rooms for children and adults. Brand new equipment and materials will be placed in the facility.
The project is intended to make Doty Hall more accessible to the Geneseo community, clients, graduate students and faculty. The building includes adjacent parking lots, wheelchair-accessible ramps, elevators and a private handicap-accessible restroom.
Budget cuts to the SUNY system will not affect the plans as money to fund the transplantation has already been set aside. The first stage of the project, gutting the building, is complete. The second stage, renovating the building, is on hold because New York State has not yet freed the funding necessary to move forward with the project. The final step will consist of furnishing the interior of the second floor.
"[After the renovations], the quality of services will match the quality of our students," House said. The move is planned to be complete by Jan. 2012.