Each year, Buffalo Business First honors the best in real estate, construction, and development in Western New York. The Collegiate category celebrates the work that improves the capital resources of Western New York’s colleges and universities.
A featured honoree in this category, the $2.4 million overhaul at Villa Maria College transformed an underutilized campus library into a dynamic engine for student retention and success. Trautman Associates redesigned the space into a flexible, technology-enabled campus hub that seamlessly integrates both collaborative and quiet study zones with centralized academic, career, and counseling services.
The design prioritizes a high-visibility, connected layout that encourages daily interaction and supports a broad spectrum of student needs. Additionally, the updated facility incorporates expanded infrastructure for advanced computing and multimedia access, ensuring the college's growing digital resources remain easily accessible to the entire campus community.
The transformed library no longer serves merely as a storage space for books—it stands as the physical heart of the college's mission to support the whole student.
Project Details
Location: 240 Pine Ridge Road, Buffalo, NY
Project Cost: $2.4 Million
Owner: Villa Maria College
Architect, Engineer & Construction Manager: Trautman Associates
General Contractor: Draghi Burgos
HVAC Contractor: Innovative Mechanical Systems
Electrical Contractor: Bison Electric
Plumbing Contractor: Hertel Plumbing
