---
title: "With Campus Population Down, Construction Presses Ahead"
date: 2020-09-22T14:13:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/campus-population-down-construction-presses-ahead-7a0e06a7-de0f-445a-81ef-72d2e1ba2b95"
section: Articles
---
# With Campus Population Down, Construction Presses Ahead

*September 22, 2020* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> New, Renovated Buildings Rising All Over UMD

*Construction Idea Factory 08252020 SC 9459 1920x1080 0 — Work continues on the 60,000-square-foot E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory, one of several large residential and academic buildings under construction on different sides of campus.*

There’s a bit less bustle around our de-densified campus this fall, but from the rumble of cranes to the roar of machinery digging out foundations to the shouts of construction crews ringing across a job site, it’s not exactly quiet at the University of Maryland.

Several large residential and academic buildings are rising simultaneously on different sides of campus, while major renovations and maintenance projects proceed apace, meaning that when UMD inevitably fills back up, it’s going to look different to many.

Bill Olen, executive director of planning and construction for Facilities Management, gives Maryland Today a virtual tour of the major work under way.

**Sidebar note:**

Visit UMD’s Office of Real Estate website for information on more projects in the city of College Park. 

- **Chemistry Building**
*Chemistry Building 01242017 9591 JC 1920x1080*
- **Cole Field House**
*Cole Construction 09042020 JC 9099 1920x1080*
- **E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory**
*Construction Idea Factory 08252020 SC 9459 1920x1080*
- **Housing and Dining Complex**
*Residence Hall Construction 08282020 SC 0611 1920x1080*
- **Purple Line**
*The M Construction 08202020 JC 7902 1920x1080*
- **School of Public Policy**
*SPP Constuction 09042020 JC 8840 1920x1080*

**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)



**Units:** [Division of Administration](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-administration)