SU launches design competition for National Veterans Resource Complex

Syracuse University has officially launched a design competition for the National Veterans Resource Complex that received major state funding last week.

The NVRC would help “solidify” central New York as the “hub” of research and programming connected to veterans and military affairs. The project was part of a winning bid from the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council that won $500 million in state funding as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

Now, moving forward with the idea, SU is turning to famous architect Martha Thorne to lead the search for a design partner. Thorne is the dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid and the executive director of the Pritzker Prize — the architecture equivalent to the Nobel Prize, according to an SU News release.

Thorne will be collaborating with the NVRC Design Selection Committee, which is made up of SU faculty, staff, students and some design professionals, to have the architectural firms submit proposals.

“By using this type of selection process, Syracuse University will be better able to select the most appropriate firm for this commission, based on both the strength of the firm and their design approach for this exciting new facility,” Thorne said in the release.

Mike Haynie, SU’s vice chancellor for veterans and military affairs, said in an interview with The Daily Orange that many leading architecture firms across the world have already expressed interest in designing the NVRC.

The NVRC will eventually serve as the home of SU’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which has grown into one of the leading institutes for veterans in the U.S. and is the crown jewel of SU’s efforts to help veterans. It will also house SU’s Office of Veterans and Military Affairs, as well as many other programs, including the Air Force and Army ROTC.

Haynie said that in many planning efforts to expand veterans resources, there was a challenge for physical infrastructure. He added that with the creation of the NVRC, the university has the opportunity to “bring everything under one roof.”

The building of the NVRC is part of SU’s Campus Master Plan, the Fast Forward initiative that focuses on the improvement of SU’s infrastructure. It serves as a guide for campus and landscape architecture, urban design, transportation, parking and utilities.

Haynie said the creation of the NVRC is in a position to “jumpstart” the Campus Master Plan and added that the process will move quickly as “that’s the nature of the (Upstate Revitalization Initiative) process.”

The NVRC would generate more than $300 million in regional economic activity over the next five years, according to the CNY Regional Economic Development Council’s proposal, and it projects to also increase occupancy rates in central New York hotels and lodging facilities.

The building is tentatively planned to be built on the western part of Waverly Avenue, closer to S. Crouse Avenue than University Avenue.

The first round of firms will be selected and notified by mid-January. Then, on April 11, 2016, the finalists will hand in materials from their basic design and in late April they will present their proposals to the selection committee.

The winning proposal and firm will be announced in May 2016.