At a topping-off ceremony in Cranford, officials and student-athletes signed the final structural beam hoisted into place at Union College of Union County's new Physical Education Center. The milestone marks a construction stage known as a topping-off ceremony. The project, pegged at $35 million by the Union County Improvement Authority, is now reported to be 30% complete, with Cranford-based contractor M&M Construction Company, Inc. finishing steel erection and preparing to begin installing the building's precast panels.
From Groundbreaking to Topping Off
The milestone comes roughly a year after officials from the Union County Improvement Authority, Union County and Union College broke ground on the project at the college's Cranford campus in October 2025. According to the Union County Improvement Authority, the $35 million renovation will transform the existing 42,000-square-foot facility, adding modernized athletic spaces, student resource areas and upgraded technology infrastructure. The topping-off ceremony, as described in the seed reporting from Insider NJ, marked the placement of the building's last structural beam, which officials from UCIA, Union County and UCNJ signed alongside student-athletes.
UCIA Executive Director Bibi Taylor said raising the final beam moved the project closer to delivering an athletic hub and student resource center, language that echoes her earlier description of the facility as a place meant to advance both athletics and academic excellence while bringing the community together. UCIA Chairman Christopher Kolibas said the facility will provide room to grow UCNJ's athletic programs and academic offerings while serving Union County residents. New Jersey Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari, who said the project is close to his heart because he earned credits at Union College over a couple of summers, said the partnership is using public dollars to reinvest in communities and build facilities that benefit residents, adding that the facility will create opportunities for student-athletes, support academic programs and serve the college community.
What's Planned Inside the Renovated Center
Project materials from the Union County Improvement Authority describe a long list of planned features at the Physical Education Center, including a wrestling room, weight training center, NJCAA-regulation basketball court, modernized physical training room and student multipurpose room. The seed reporting also lists academic classrooms, improved spectator seating and expanded athletic areas designed to meet current safety and competition standards. The expansion is expected to meet both National Junior College Athletic Association and Garden State Athletic Conference standards, a goal that aligns with earlier reporting from Real Estate NJ describing the facility as designed to support UCNJ's NJCAA and Garden State Athletic Conference programs.
UCNJ currently supports 14 NJCAA athletic teams, and at least five of those teams are expected to host competitions in the renovated facility once it opens, including men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and men's wrestling. Beyond athletics, officials say the finished building will also provide the capacity to host major campus events, including spring and winter commencement ceremonies. The expansion is also expected to create opportunities to expand sports-related academic programs, including sports management, and to strengthen community partnerships.
Budget Figures Have Shifted Over Time
Cost estimates for the project have varied across different stages of reporting. A 2022 UCIA resolution authorizing a shared-services agreement with Union College put the project's estimated cost at $20 million, funded by Chapter 12 Bonds authorized by Union County. By September 2025, Patch reported the project as a $30 million renovation, with funding split evenly between Union County and state and capital money from UCNJ; that figure was echoed by BINJE's report on the renovation announcement and by Real Estate NJ's description of the project as a roughly $30 million investment. UCIA's own groundbreaking announcement later described the effort as a $35 million renovation project. The available record does not explain whether these figures reflect revised budgets, different project scopes or simply inconsistent estimates at different stages.
The same 2022 resolution assigned the Authority a project-management role, authorizing UCIA to select and manage the professionals and vendors completing the project. Patch's September 2025 report also noted that the UCIA Board of Commissioners awarded the construction contract to M&M Construction Company, Inc. on September 9, 2025, and that no estimated completion date had been released at that time.
Looking Toward a Fall 2027 Finish
Officials now expect the Physical Education Center expansion to be completed in fall 2027, a timeline also cited in architectural firm DIGroup Architecture's project description, which projects completion for fall 2027. Real Estate NJ likewise reported the fall 2027 completion as slated, though it remains a projected date rather than a confirmed one. DIGroup's description of the project scope includes a 30,000-square-foot addition combined with a 30,500-square-foot renovation of the existing building at 1033 Springfield Ave. in Cranford, consistent with UCIA's framing of the project as transforming the 42,000-square-foot structure into a modern athletic and academic facility.
