University Facilities working around the clock as storm recovery continues

Across Western New York, homes, buildings and critical aspects of the region’s physical infrastructure were impacted by last month’s historic blizzard.

At UB, although multiple buildings sustained a range of damage from the storm, the university resumed normal operations this week and repairs to impacted buildings are well underway — thanks to the dedicated work of University Facilities before, during and after the blizzard. All buildings affected by the storm will fully reopen within the next few weeks, well before he majority of students and faculty return for the start of the spring semester on Jan. 30.

Across the North and South campuses, some buildings remained closed Tuesday as the university resumed operations. Portions of the Biomedical Research Building, Cary Hall, Clemens Hall and Fronczak Hall sustained water damage due to frozen pipes during temporary power interruptions at the height of the storm. All four buildings are expected to reopen to building occupants this week or next while cleanup and repair continue in impacted areas. Within some buildings, access to some floors will be restricted as repairs progress.

Squire Hall is scheduled to reopen Jan. 6 following a power outage that requires replacement of the building’s transformer. Classes in the School of Dental Medicine are being held remotely or in alternate locations this week. The UB Dental clinic is scheduled reopen Jan. 9 once the new transformer is in place.  

Cooke Hall lost power during the storm and suffered moderate water damage but was reopened to building occupants on Tuesday. The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building in downtown Buffalo did not sustain any damage during the storm and classes began as scheduled on Tuesday.

“I want to thank our teams in University Facilities, along with Environmental Health and Safety, for their dedication and outstanding work in response to the storm,” said Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration. “While the damage to some buildings on our campuses was significant, because of the around the clock work by our staff, the impacts and repairs are manageable. Although some repairs will continue over the next few weeks, we expect all buildings will reopen to the university community by next week.”

Deans, vice presidents and department heads with work, lab or classroom spaces in impacted buildings have provided regular updates to their areas regarding temporary locations or arrangements for impacted employees and students.

Project managers from University Facilities remain in constant communication with unit-level Facilities Planning and Management Officers (FPMOs) to coordinate remaining repairs and cleanup efforts. Faculty and staff who need access to restricted space to check on or retrieve personal or professional items can do so by scheduling access with their unit’s FPMO. 

University employees who encounter any damage to their area’s work, classrooms, seminar spaces or lab areas, should inform their unit’s FPMO of the problem immediately. FPMOs will report the issue directly to University Facilities. If your unit FPMO is unavailable, please report the issue directly to University Facilities customer service at custserv@facilities.buffalo.edu or 716-645-2025 during regular business hours.