Abby Anderson's Archive

Construction is continuing on the basement walls and basement floors in select areas. Grade beams have also been installed.

Work has begun on the existing pool and surrounding pool area, beginning with reworking the drains, tile work and lighting.

Piers are still being drilled; 220 of 330 piers are now complete. Once all piers have been drilled and placed,  slab work will begin, as well as building up the structure.

The Rec. Center project is still carrying roughly a 50-day delay, which will be made up once the structure starts to go up. The time is expected to be recoverd by mid-year of 2011.

Work on the Student Recreation and Wellness Center is still primarily structural work. Over the last two weeks, crews have continued to work on drilling piers, and pouring concrete walls and foundations.

The drilling and pouring of structural piers will continue, as well the placement of grade beams and pier caps in select areas. Backfilling, the filling of areas made for construction, around the excavated areas for the area ways has begun as well. The “rough in” of underground MEPs, mechanical, electrical and plumbing works, have begun. Finally, over the next week, the concrete for the basement walls will be poured.

As always, progress can be continually viewed via the project’s online web camera, posting a new photo roughly every minute.

Over the last two months, the majority of the construction on the Student Recreation Center has been structural. Most construction is still being done below ground level; once more construction moves above ground, progress will be easily observable from outside the construction zone and fence.

The gas main and sewer line, located back in April, have finally been relocated. This unexpected relocation of the gas main has caused the project to carry a roughly 52 day delay. Currently, the project is in a revised recovery schedule, and is expected to have regained the time by the end of the year, put the project back on schedule.

Of the 320 structural piers, 120 piers have been completed. Full pier completion is expected to be done by the end of August.

There are five areaways to be dug and built for the Student Recreation Center. One has been dug and had the concrete poured, three are in the process of being formed up, and one is being dug.

The digging for the new pool is now complete, and repairs for the pre-existing drains and the new plumbing will begin soon.

The piers in the basement are in process; in the next couple of weeks, formation of the basement walls will begin.

A revised electrical lay-out for the new cardiovascular equipment has been completed.

Finally, stone and brick color samples have been looked over, and are expected by July 22.

The relocation of a gas line, as well as a sanitary/sewer line, are anticipated to be completed on schedule, next week. Relocation of these two lines has gone according to schedule and without difficulty.

Almost all of the demolition will be completed by mid-week.

Excavation on the southwest side of the site is complete, and drilling for piers has begun.

Excavation has now begun on the north and east side of the site, and drilling for piers will move to those areas soon.

This week, construction crews will be potholing around the building, digging to expose all known underground utilities, in preparation to start digging on the south side; demolition on the south side is expected to start mid-week.

Atmos Energy, the natural gas distributor, will send out a survey crew this week to mark the easement for a gas line found on-site and to approve of the relocation and reroute of the gas line. The relocation should be completed near the middle of May.

Crews will also be working on the relocation of a sewer line that runs through the site, and are going to relocate the sewer line on the same timeline as the gas line.

Before construction began, extensive asbestos abatement was done on Gibson. Last week, asbestos was also discovered underneath the gym floors.  Abatement will begin to get rid of remaining asbestos on Monday, April 19.

Next week, demolition will continue on the south side of the site, as well as additional digging on basement areas.

Demolition on the east side of Gibson began this week, and will move to demolition on the south side at the end of this week and beginning of next.

Over the next few phases, 18-foot-deep holes will be visible. These holes are being dug on the east side of Gibson for a new basement.

Two more trees located on the northeast corner of the construction site, located near the tennis courts, are also going to be uprooted. Physical Resources is looking into transplanting the two trees to different locations on campus.

This site will serve to update ACU students, faculty, staff and community on the development of ACU’s new Student Recreation and Wellnes Center. Updates will be posted at least once a week for approximately the next sixteen months. Images of the new center’s plans are also available, as well as access to the web camera which captures images of the construction site.

Two weeks ago HOAR Construction, the company ACU contracted for the project, began demolition and site work for ACU’s new Recreation Center.

Over these last two weeks, the project has made notable advancements beginning with on-site work. Site work began with the installment of chain link fencing that surrounds the contruction site. Construction trailers were moved onto the site, with temporary utilities running to them and the construction zone provided by Morris Hall. Trees and hardscape were cleared, and eighteen trees that surrounded Gibson, ACU’s previous health and physical education center, were transplanted to other locations on campus. Temporary construction walls were installed where the two hallways of Gibson connect to Moody Coliseum. Also, erosion controls were set in place to control all water run-off from the construcion site in the event of rain. This is done by a series of cylindrical net-filled mulch barriers.

Demolition began on Gibson; the east end was torn down and removed. During demolition, all debris are sorted by steel, concrete, aluminum, copper and cinder block and then sent to appropriate recycling areas.

This week, demoiliton will begin on the south side of Gibson. This covers the areas just west of the double gym and the old excercise science offices.

PRESS RELEASE – Abilene Christian University is preparing to break ground on a state-of-the-art 113,000-square-foot $21 million Student Recreation and Wellness Center.  The facility will be named in honor of retiring ACU President Dr. Royce Money and his wife, Pam.

Construction is scheduled to begin early next month, with an anticipated grand opening set for Fall 2011.

“This project is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of planning by ACU students, faculty, and staff,” says Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students.

“Having this facility on our campus will help us achieve one of our major goals:  to educate students with a holistic wellness focus.  This won’t just be a facility where they go to work out.  We are focused on their intellectual and spiritual development, as well as their physical fitness,” says Thompson.

The Royce and Pam Money Recreation and Wellness Center represents a substantial expansion and renovation of the 41-year-old Gibson Health and Physical Education Center, currently located adjacent to Moody Coliseum.

The updated facility will house multiple venues for student learning, exercise and athletic competition including:  a sizable cardio fitness and weight training area; multi-purpose gyms; an eighth-mile indoor elevated recreational track; racquetball courts; and a new leisure pool with swim lanes and opportunities for water sports.

Offices and classrooms for the Department of Exercise Science and Health, including a large lecture hall, will be located on the second floor.  The new building also will house the ACU Medical Clinic, Counseling Center, and Intramural Sports Office, a reconfiguration that will bring the university’s health and wellness-related services to a central location.

“While the center will primarily serve our students, we will also encourage our current faculty and staff to take advantage of its resources,” says Dr. Thompson.

ACU Vice President for Development John Tyson says roughly 60 percent of the anticipated cost for the project — more than $12 million — has already been raised. Construction costs will be paid for through a combination of donor gifts and financing rather than out of student tuition payments.

“This center is going to be cutting edge,” says Tyson.  “With a project of this magnitude, we’re clearly relying on the generosity of the university’s long-time supporters, but we also expect new friends will step forward to say they want to lend a hand.”