As students work to finish the fall semester, other work begins on a bevy of construction projects that will transform the look and function of Columbus State University’s Main Campus.  

Three major buildings will be impacted: Woodall Hall, the Synovus Center for Commerce and Technology and the Davidson Student Center. 

The most immediate and noticeable transformation will be the demolition of Woodall Hall [map], next to the university’s iconic Whitley Clock Tower. Built in 1963, Woodall Hall is one of the university’s inaugural buildings. Over the years, it has housed a wide variety of administrative offices and academic departments—from Information Technology to the Department of English—before finally being vacated in August of 2019.

Woodall Hall’s demolition has been in the university’s masterplan for years to open the campus core and create a true quad between the recently renovated Simon Schwob Memorial Library, the Richards Hall main administration building and the soon-to-be-renovated Davidson Student Center. 

A contractor has been working on the interior demolition of Woodall during the past few weeks. Crews have started putting up construction fencing around the whole building to allow workers to begin dismantling some of the exterior walls and sorting materials. The major demolition work is scheduled to begin during Thanksgiving break and extend through Dec. 20, with concessions to minimize campus disruptions around semester finals and fall commencement. The building should be gone and replaced by greenspace by early January 2025. 

As fencing goes up around Woodall Hall, another crew will soon start installing fencing around the Synovus Center for Commerce & Technology [map], where a state-funded $8 million renovation is set to begin. That project will replace much of the building’s brick exterior and improve the entire complex’s weatherproofing. When finished, the building will look the same, but be much more comfortable for its occupants and more efficient for the university to maintain and operate. Work on that project will extend into late 2025. 

The last of the three major projects is the renovation of the Davidson Student Center [map], supported by a $4.8 million state appropriation last year. The architect, 2WR+Partners, is surveying students later this month to gather input on what the renovation should include and look like.  

“We are very appreciative of our local legislative delegation and the Georgia General Assembly for their support of these projects to upgrade our campus and improve the student experience at Columbus State University,” said Columbus State President Stuart Rayfield. “This work will be a significant facelift for the areas where our students gather and socialize. They will significantly improve the look and functionality of our Main Campus—in much the same way private supporters did downtown for our RiverPark Campus.”