An admissions building that began construction after Memorial Day, and a large-scale student center are among the projects Longwood University is currently pursuing, representatives noted.

Offering an update on the university’s master plan, representatives said in a release on the university website that it is making progress on the admissions building, which will be located in the areas of High, Buffalo and Randolph streets. Crafts House, owned by the university, was demolished last week.

“The new admissions building project commenced the week after Memorial Day,” Louise Waller, associate vice president of campus planning, construction and real estate foundation, said.

“The first phase includes demolition of the Crafts House, which is now finished, and site work to prepare for the new construction.”

Citing safety concerns she said Buffalo Street is expected to close in the next few weeks.

“Buffalo Street will temporarily close within the next few weeks,” Waller said. “Longwood and the Town of Farmville feel that this is the safest way to manage the project. There was concern that leaving the street open may become a hazard for vehicles as well as pedestrians.”

“Over the summer months much of the site and utility work will be completed,” Waller said. “This will require a temporary closure of Randolph Street for a few days. Longwood is working closely with the Town to manage project impacts and keep the community updated.”

“The Town of Farmville, Farmville United Methodist Church, Johns Memorial Episcopal Church, Walk2Campus, and other neighboring property owners have all been wonderful to work with,” Waller said. “Longwood is very fortunate that the community sees the value in a new admissions building and understands the positive impact it will have for all of us.”

Those who have seen construction on Frazer residence hall while driving through South Main Street can expect to see the hall reopen in fall 2019. Curry residence hall will see similar construction in 2019.

The two residence halls have “housed tens of thousands of Longwood students since their openings in 1969 and 1970, but they look and feel their age, and Longwood’s master plan called for the renovation of the buildings—both inside and out,” a release from the university cited.

Ground is expected to break for the renovations at Curry Hall in May 2019 and is expected to reopen in fall 2020.

“Because of enrollment demographics and the availability of university managed housing elsewhere, we have enough beds available to make up for the lack of about 400 beds in each building while they are undergoing construction,” Waller said.

Other buildings underway including the Upchurch Student Center, which the release noted is expected to be the largest building on campus and is set to open in fall 2019. The center will house activities for the university’s more than 200 student organizations.

The university is also set to construct a four-story academic building behind French Hall that will be used for undergraduate research programs for the university’s, health, athletic training and recreation, and neuroscience studies, as well as faculty offices.