A short stroll along College Avenue will quickly prove that Rutgers is in the midst of the most comprehensive period of capital construction in the university’s history.

Most of the attention is focused on the construction of the residential honors college. The building, overlooking the Raritan River on George Street between Seminary Street and Bishop Place, will be the home of 500 of the most accomplished and promising students from throughout New Jersey and around the world.

The building is about halfway to completion and is scheduled to open in fall 2015.

The honors college, offering special academic opportunities and challenges beyond traditional curriculum and classroom experience, is specifically designed to create an environment for intensive small group study, personalized advising, faculty mentoring and specialized cultural and social activities across all disciplines.

Meanwhile, work is underway on two other College Avenue projects: A new academic building and a 500-bed student apartment complex. Both are scheduled for completion in 2016 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the founding of Rutgers University.

The 175,000 square-foot, classically designed academic building will house a number of departments, and approximately 2,500 seats of classroom space in the form of modern lecture halls.

The 240,000 square-foot, 125-unit apartment style housing complex at Hamilton Street and College Avenue will be composed primarily of four-bedroom, single-occupancy units. It will provide additional housing options for Rutgers students in an on-campus setting and contain more than 13,000 square feet of retail space.

“The demand for a Rutgers education continues to grow,” said Antonio Calcado, vice president for facilities and capital planning. “We recognize the need to provide modern academic facilities for teaching, learning and research as well as up-to-date residential and recreational spaces to enhance the student experience.”

In June, Gov. Christie, President Robert Barchi and several state, local and university officials came together on the Busch Campus to break ground for the new home of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

Site work continues on the four-story, 145,000 square-foot building that will provide critically needed teaching, laboratory and support space. The facility will enable Rutgers to expand and accelerate its innovative research in drug design, alternative energy, biomaterials and nanotechnology. Funded largely by New Jersey’s Building Our Future Bond Act, the $115 million project is slated for completion in fall 2016.

Numerous facilities projects, large and small, were completed over the summer.

At Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in Newark, two new clinics have opened in the School of Dental Medicine. The $4.1 million project creates 26 work spaces for pediatric dentistry and nine spaces for patients with ambulatory disabilities.

The New Jersey Medical School and the School of Nursing have undergone major renovation and reconstruction to modernize and increase classroom, research and training space. Totaling approximately $28 million, the projects were funded through a combination of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money and the 2012 Building Our Future Bond Act.

The light fixtures over the main pool at the Werblin Recreation Center on the Busch Campus have been replaced with more reliable and energy efficient lighting.

Major renovations to the HVAC systems will improve temperature management in the multipurpose room, main lounge, food court and offices of the College Avenue Student Center.

More than two dozen classrooms in Murray, Hardenbergh and Beck Halls have been renovated to provide better electrical power and improved technology for learning and instruction.