With the foundation laid, the structure of the HUB has slowly been rising before the campuses’ eyes each day. Even when progress appears to be slow, it is evident that crews are hard at work as the sounds of construction echo across campus.
The building is set to fully open to students after Fall Break on Oct. 7, 2025. Before this, there are two milestones that the construction must reach, said Mark Reed, vice president of finance and administration.
The first milestone is called “Substantially Complete,” meaning that the City of Bethlehem has issued a certificate of occupancy for the building. At this stage, the infrastructure of the building is complete to a point that it can be considered “occupiable.”
The second milestone is called “Final Completion,” which is the very end of a construction project. It is the point in construction where both major and minor details are considered finished, according to the contract signed.
Since the start of construction, the “Substantially Complete” goal date was Aug. 29, 2025 and the “Final Completion” goal date was Sept. 26, 2025. Neither of these dates have changed.
The original plan for the HUB called for the renovation to be completed within 18 months.
“The timeline for this project is extremely aggressive,” Reed explained.
Because the construction timeline is so short, the renovation team has factored timeline, cost, and architectural changes into the process.
The construction timeline factored in days where poor weather conditions prohibited crews from working, meaning that the construction schedule has remained steady.
Additional expenses were also budgeted into the renovation.
“The contractors build ‘contingencies’ into the overall cost of the project,” Reed said. “They are simply placeholders for the surprises,.” like X and X.
Currently, the HUB renovations exceed the overall budget, including these contingencies, by 1%, or roughly $500,000. Previously, The Comenian found that the overall cost, including interest, would exceed $65 million.
Some architectural changes have been made during renovation. These changes will not affect the overall appearance of the building at the end of construction, but rather are structural changes that require “technical” adjustments.
Reed explained that the contractor and the architect are working closely to resolve any revisions to stay on track.
As of the week of Feb. 22, construction crews were working to install interior and exterior framing, set up door frames, work on mechanical and electrical systems, secure structural elements, add insulation, and install stairs.
In the coming week, crews will also install drywall and ceilings and paint the elevator machine room.
