In the spring of 2019, Chiang O’Brien was engaged by SUNY Cortland to provide programming and pre-design services for the second and third floors of the Miller Building. Subsequently, the State University Construction Fund contracted Chiang O’Brien Architects through an SUCF Architectural Term Agreement in 2020 to develop the project, with the direction to advance the design of both floors through Schematic Design (SD). While a two-phase construction was planned initially due to funding and surge space challenges, it was ultimately determined that the project could be managed in a single phase of construction.

The initial impetus for the project was to abate friable hazardous materials in the ceiling cavity and other areas of the two floors, making it impossible to make even minor changes in the building layout. Since the demolition scope required to abate the hazardous materials was so extensive, it made sense to take advantage of the renovation to better organize the programs in the building, creating better adjacencies and synergies.

The final renovation of the 2nd and 3rd floor of the Miller Building reorganized Student Accounts, Extended Learning, Registrar, Record Services, Special Events, and Financial Aid in the Miller Building, co-locating them together on the 2nd floor with staff and faculty services relocated to the 3rd floor. The completed renovation creates modern and comfortable spaces that give students access to all the services with convenient adjacencies on a single level–with admissions only one floor away.