Admirals from the United States Merchant Marine Academy presented a $1.02 billioncampus modernization planto the Village of Kings Point Board of Trustees at its Wednesday, Feb. 11, meeting.
Congress has authorized $50 billion for Fiscal Year 2026, and USMMA expects the project to take 10 to 15 years to implement.
“The Academy is in an exciting place,” said Rear Admiral Tony Ceraolo. It plans to create “a fully modernized campus that is in the 21st century,” he said.
Admiral John Shea, the director of facilities and infrastructure for the USMMA, said a survey of the campus was conducted, and that the campus has undergone minor renovations since its establishment in 1943.
Shea said that no buildings were rated “green,” meaning they were in good condition; many were rated “yellow,” meaning they needed improvements, and “most were rated red,” meaning they are “no longer of use.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already dispatched engineers to begin the project.
Under the plan, at least eight new buildings are proposed, including a large fieldhouse, new faculty housing, a new academic center, a new midshipmen activity center, and a new mariner training center.
Five buildings are proposed for demolition, and at least 17 for renovation.
“This is a lot bigger project than I thought, and it does impact the village,” Mayor Kouros Torkan said. “We will have to discuss this with you a lot.”
The projects that have already begun are the demolition of 307 Steamboat Road, the renovation of Samuels Hall, seawall replacement, Hague basin dredging, the upgrades of Fulton and Gibbs Hall, and the construction of a new athletic fieldhouse.
Source: LI Press
