Dyson Center Remains On Time for Fall 2024
Photo Courtesy of Carlo de Jesus/Marist College
When Marist College first broke ground on the renovation of the Dyson Center back in July 2022, the college set the expectation that the building would be open to students and holding classes by the start of the fall of 2024.
A year and a half later, the project is on schedule to finish construction during summer 2024, according to Anthony Proia, director of media relations at Marist.
“I am a little disappointed that we had to wait like a good two years to see it open, and I just have one year with it,” said Andrew Dispensa ‘25. “I just wish it was open sooner because it really looks like a nice building and a great place for business students.”
There is some skepticism among some of the student body as to whether the building will be open according to that timeline.
The construction of Dyson is the biggest upgrade Marist has made to its facilities since the completion of renovations to the McCann Center in January 2020. Dyson will more than double in size, going from 54,000 to 110,000 square feet. This upgrade costs $60 million, nearly double the McCann Center renovation cost of $33 million.
In an article published by the Marist SGA in February 2018 regarding the McCann Center renovation, the initial expectation was that the project would take only 12-16 months. Construction ended up requiring 18 months as the McCann Center did not open until the start of the 2020 spring semester.
Marist has remained firm that everything is on track for the Dyson Center to open on time for the start of the 2024 school year. After breaking ground on the project over a year and a half ago, the expected timeline is that the building will be completed after roughly 25 months of construction.
“Now that the building is totally enclosed, weather is no longer much of a factor,” said Proia. “Everything is moving along on time to open by the summer. It’s been amazing to watch the work go on outside my window in Lowell Thomas throughout the winter.”
Once completed, the renovated Dyson Center will be home to the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the School of Management. The building will feature many new and upgraded facilities, including a mock courtroom and command center, a counseling and social work suite, psychology labs and marketing labs, to name a few.
Also housed in the Dyson Center is the School of Business, which will see the college’s Student Investment Center upgraded and moved to the new building from its current location in Hancock Center. The new Investment Center is expected to feature a fully functional ‘Wall Street style’ trading floor, modern ticker displays and marketing and entrepreneurship labs. Compared to what the old Dyson Center had to offer to students in the Schools of Business and Social and Behavioral Sciences, these new features are creating a lot of excitement.
“I'm pretty excited about it because compared to the old Dyson building, this seems a lot nicer,” said Dispensa. “With all the pictures and renderings they have of what it's supposed to look like, this is supposed to be a lot nicer. I remember going to the old Dyson building as a freshman and just being kind of disappointed because it was kind of a little rundown.”
While the new Dyson Center promises to offer many benefits to students, the massive project has yielded several inconveniences to students, the biggest of which is the relocation of classes while the Dyson Center has been out of use. As a result, classes otherwise in Dyson have been moved to 51 Fulton, a largely isolated building on the east side of campus. This has led to many students, especially those living in the North End apartments and Foy Townhouses, having to walk upwards of 20 minutes just to get to class on time.
“I'm constantly late,” said Hailey Fesai ‘26, who lived in the Foy Townhouses during the fall 2023 semester. “I feel like it's so unnecessary for students to be stressed about getting to class on time and having to walk so far away.”
Another aspect of the construction of the Dyson Center that students have noticed is the occasional protests that have taken place on or near campus. These are organized by union construction workers who display a sign reading “shame on you” and inflate a large black rat, which is a symbol of opposition by union workers against employers or non-union contractors.
“They are on public property, so they can do what they want. The rat is not an issue with Marist, it's an issue with the contractor and some sort of union dispute that the contractor has with a portion of the construction,” said Director of Safety and Security John Blaisdell.
The construction company building the Dyson Center is Pike Construction; Marist has used various construction companies on their big projects in the past. Justin Butwell, director of Physical Plant at Marist, described the College’s process of selecting a company for each major construction project, saying, “We issue request for proposals (RFP) to several construction management firms for any large construction on campus, and those companies will compete for the project. In the past 10 – 15 years, Marist has used Pike Construction, Daniel O’Connells Sons, Consigli, and Pavarini Construction on the many larger projects that have been built.”
While the Dyson Center still has months of construction before its completion and eventual opening, the college has already put plans for its next major facility upgrade.
On Dec. 11, 2023, Marist announced a fundraising campaign to upgrade the Gartland Athletic Field and build the first-ever track on the college grounds. The Marist track and field and cross country programs have been around for over 60 years but have never had a home track on campus; instead, they have had to travel to other complexes in the area to practice and train. The fundraising goal is set at $3.5 million, and the current timeline is to have the facility completed and ready for use prior to the spring 2025 athletic season.