There’s a saying that good things come to those who wait. Well, McNeese State University is finally getting its due in a big way.

In the nearly three years since the double-punch of Hurricanes Laura and Delta, the university has made it through to the other side in its recovery efforts and is preparing for nearly $120 million in revitalization projects to begin in the fall.

“It’s been a long haul here for three years and inside I’m doing backflips,” President Daryl Burckel said. “We’re having consistent progress — it’s not as fast as we would have liked to have seen it, and I don’t think anything works like that in storms, but we’re making progress.”

The campus has already had more than $220 million in repair works completed, and Burckel said now the efforts are shifting to revitalize the campus and get it ready for the next 80 years.

“Talk about finding the silver lining in something bad that happened,” Burckel said. “First of all, we have a new campus in terms of new roofs on every building and HVAC systems throughout campus. Because of the CARES Act, we have new technology in every classroom in every building.”

While the process of waiting on insurance money and reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency was “a little painful in the time that it has taken, it allowed us to reimagine what campus could be like,” Burckel said.

That reimagining is now leading to a new press box, campus bookstore, student union, autism center and additional housing.

The McNeese bookstore is being relocated to the site of the former Wesley Foundation Methodist Student Center at the corner of Sale Road and Hodges Street. The center, which was heavily damaged during Hurricane Laura, will be relocated inside the New Ranch in the epicenter of campus. Remodeling of the site will begin in the fall and the bookstore is expected to open in the spring of 2024.

Construction on a new Student Union — funded through student fees and not capital outlay funding or FEMA reimbursements — will begin in the spring of 2024. The Student Union will be built on the soon-to-be-demolished site of Farrar Hall and the Memorial Gym and will include a cafeteria for student dining, ballroom space and student government offices. The project is expected to take 18-24 months to complete.

Burckel said FEMA has replaced all of the lampposts around campus with upgraded LED lighting. McNeese will pay to replace the rest of the campus lighting with the same quality. All of the labs around campus are being upgraded, as well.

A McNeese Autism Center is being created at the site of the former campus police station, which has been moved to the Watkins Infirmary next to the library. The project will begin in the spring of 2024 and take about 12 months to complete, Burckel said.

Upgrades are also being made to the Shearman Fine Arts building, the Legacy Center parking lot and the Contraband Bayou retaining wall. Campus entryway iron works will also be installed.

“The McNeese president’s house is also being repaired and renovated,” Burckel said. “We’re looking at about a $2 million renovation to the facility and also to the grounds. The architects are working on the design and we expect construction to begin in the spring.”

New housing will also be built in the center of campus and on Common Street at the site of the former Miller’s House of Sports.

The university is also in talks with the city of Lake Charles for a cooperative agreement to transfer property on the back side of the McNeese farm to the city in exchange for property on Kirkman Street where a former Lake Charles Fire Station was housed. If approved, the fire station will be torn down and a new baseball field house will be constructed.

“All these projects that we’re talking about will get going in about 60-90 days,” he said. “There’s going to be a real transformation. In the next five years, we’re going to have a totally new campus.”

Burckel said he’s hoping the excitement on campus will translate to an increase in enrollment, as well.

“Enrollment is still an issue nationwide, but it’s hard to put your best foot forward when you’re trying to recruit students to facilities that are not up to standard,” he said. “By having our facilities coming up to standard, it gives us a better opportunity to keep students here and bring new students in.”