Renovations to Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, slated to start this summer, will make the building more accessible, Syracuse University announced in a release Friday morning.

Most of the renovations will take place on the lower level of HBC and include upgrades to Kittredge Auditorium and a new elevator that goes to the Gifford Auditorium lobby. The work is scheduled to begin in May, the day after commencement, and be completed by mid-August 2015.

Renovations to Kittredge will bring the auditorium up to current accessibility code standards by adding accessible seating, installing assisted listening devices and making adjacent restrooms accessible. A new accessible, single-occupancy restroom will also be added.

Another aspect of the project is the installation of a new elevator, which will provide access to the Gifford Auditorium lobby on the building’s main floor. Currently, to get to Gifford and the accessible restroom on that level, those with wheelchairs must go outside the building and enter through a door in the courtyard between HBC and Hall of Languages.

The new elevator cab will be wider, with doors on both sides and control panels in two locations. But, due to the dimensions of the elevator shaft, the cab will still be five inches shorter than the optimal depth.

Joseph Alfieri, senior project manager in the Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction, will give two presentations about the renovations and hear comments from the SU community. The first presentation will take place at noon on Wednesday in the Huntington Commons area and the second will take place on Dec. 2 in Hall of Languages room 500.

The campus community can also try out the dimensions of the new elevator by visiting a mock-up of the cab, which will be on display in the Huntington Hall gathering area from Nov. 17-21 and in the HBC lower level lobby from Dec. 1-5.