Amy Maceyko from AE Works of Sewickley, PA talks about the exterior appearance of the proposed new Kilcawley student center on the campus of YSU...by R. Michael Semple

YOUNGSTOWN — What will a newly renovated, state-of-the-art Kilcawley Center look like in a few years?

“This project is one of the first things I got hit with when I got here. It’s never had a facelift in all that time, and it’s time it gets one,” Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson said.

He was referring to Kilcawley Center, a portion of which was finished in 1964 but has undergone only two expansions in the 1970s.

Suffice it to say that the two-story popular student, business and activity center will be receiving more than mere cosmetic treatment. The building is slated to undergo major renovations, likely beginning next June, after spring semester commencement.

Johnson made his remarks during the first of three open forums Thursday in the building. The sessions were geared toward gathering the YSU community’s input regarding the massive project, as well as to provide updates on what the work will entail.

Another project benefit will be addressing the problem of “a lot of wasted space” in the center, Johnson said. He added that in some instances, a lack of room has made it necessary to move certain events and activities elsewhere.

The one-hour forums also marked the final ones before schematic drawings will be finalized.

The project’s etiology dates to mid-2021, when a feasibility study had been conducted that, in part, included what would be needed, given the university’s partnerships with a variety of city entities, Joy Polkabla Byers, YSU’s associate vice president of student experience, said. During Thursday’s gathering, she was unable to provide a cost estimate for the project.

Amy Maceyko, a principal with Pittsburgh-based AE Works architecture firm, gave a detailed outline of what the building likely will look like internally and externally when the project wraps up. AE Works is collaborating with Strollo Architects Inc. of Youngstown to handle the design aspects.

A top priority is to ensure the renovated Kilcawley Center has a greater centrality to the university, as well as to be more welcoming, student-friendly and easier to navigate, she said.

One way to achieve those goals is to design “a strong east-to-west connection” that would begin at the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center to the west and connect it with a lounge area that looks out onto the fountains to the east, Maceyko noted.

At that corridor’s crossroad will be a large information desk, she said.

Another major piece to the work is to consolidate the dining facilities, many of which would maintain the same hours as the building itself. Now, many of the food businesses are scattered throughout Kilcawley Center, she explained.

The 7,950-square-foot Chestnut Room on the first floor would become a multipurpose banquet room and ballroom. The latter likely also could be divided into three meeting rooms that total a little more than 10,000 square feet.

In addition, renovations will be made to, and new equipment installed in, the catering kitchen, Maceyko said. She added that the 2,113-square-foot Black Box Theater and the Cove also will see improvements.

The Cove will have new furniture added, along with a wider array of activities. Also, updates will be done to Rookery Radio, the university’s first student-run online station that was launched in 2011.

Externally, Kilcawley Center’s Spring Street entrance and side will have a greater number of windows to provide added light to both floors, along with lighter masonry to replace the red and brown bricks and give the facade a more welcoming appearance, Maceyko said, adding that a similar approach will be taken with the building’s south side.

Other improvements will include new sprinklers, restrooms, signage and upgrades to the loading dock, with added space for golf carts, she added.

Leia Cadotte, AE Works’ senior interior designer, discussed the ballroom, saying that the space will feature fabric-wrapped panels to allow for optimal acoustics during musical performances and other events. She also explored a variety of elaborate flooring patterns that could be installed in the dining sections and surrounding areas.

Kilcawley Center is a complex network of rooms, and was built with a complicated design schism, so the university intends to create a website related to the renovation work. Doing so should help students, faculty and others more easily navigate through what’s being done and stay up to date on the project, Polkabla Byers said.

Johnson said the university will soon be seeing a heightened urgency to raise the necessary funds to keep the work on schedule, which he hopes will be complete in about three years.

“I hope that by fall 2027, we will all be walking into a newly renovated Kilcawley Center,” the president added.