Archive for ‘Construction’

Scaffolding along the south face of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, as seen from the facility's roof. Crews are expected to be finished with brick work and other major pieces of the building's exterior by the end of the month.

Construction on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center has moved into what seems to be a full-on sprint, as crews race to complete sealing in the facility by the end of May, with major interior work set to begin June 1:

Medical and Counseling Care Center

Air conditioning, doors, lights and the intercom system are installed, with acoustic ceiling tiles in place this week. Flooring will be installed beginning June 1, and the items remaining to be installed can be counted one hand: Handrails, corner guards and cabinets (which include receptionist desks and the like).

North gym

Across from the racquetball courts, this gym was used for storage through most of the project, but it now has new lights, temperature control and newly built sections of wall along the ceiling. Crews will begin painting the ceiling and walls in the coming weeks, with the basketball court scheduled to be installed beginning June 1.

The pools

Crews this week are running pressure tests to ensure the plumbing is in good order before tile is laid over the concrete base of the leisure pool. Painting, meanwhile, is set to begin on the ceiling and walls surrounding the lap pool, after which tile work will begin in that pool, as well.

The lobby

Work in the lobby is mostly finished for now, with flooring and final touches among the last items to be completed in the facility. The cabinet work — receptionist desks and other semipermanent fixtures — will begin in two to three weeks.

Faculty and athletics offices

With most classes over for the summer and most students off campus, coaches and staff have moved out of their offices, and minor renovations (new paint, carpets and ceiling tiles) have begun. Faculty from the Department of Exercise Science and Health have begun moving out, as well, and work will begin on those offices next week.

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The Optimist reported this week that Abilene Christian University could obtain a certificate of occupancy for the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center by Aug. 15:

Zane Dennis, executive director of facilities and campus development, said he is excited for the opening of this one-of-a-kind building.

“It’s going to be phenomenal,” Dennis said. “It will be the new glue for the campus and have that adhesion factor that everyone will congregate to.”

Dennis said he expects the city to grant the building a certificate of occupancy, which verifies the safety and usability of the structure, by Aug. 15.

Crews will have two weeks to move in furniture and install exercise equipment to prepare for the timely opening, Dennis said.

“Our society today looks so much at promoting health, and I think that’s what this facility helps us do,” Dennis said.

That two-week time period is especially key for the Medical and Counseling Care Center, which hopes to be fully operational in its new location before classes begin Aug. 29.

A certificate of occupancy is granted by the City of Abilene after its inspectors determine the facility meets the city’s relevant zoning, construction and public-safety ordinances. The university cannot take possession of the center until it has the certificate in hand.

Construction on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center is accelerating in an effort to get the building open in time for Abilene Christian University classes to start Aug. 29 — and in an effort to get the building closed in before another major thunderstorm sends water into the facility.

As a result, this edition of the construction update doesn’t include many specific updates. Crews instead are working on installing brick, putting in windows and sealing gaps, after which work will turn primarily inward. Although all exterior work won’t be finished by the end of May, the building should be sealed by then, allowing also for more comfortable working conditions for the crews as the West Texas summer begins in earnest.

Photos below of the latest work.

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By this humble blogger’s count, the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center features 107 exterior-facing windows (give or take a few dozen, depending on what you consider a window versus a mere pane of glass), most of them on the second floor.

Here’s a sneak peek at what Abilene Christian University will look like through these glass portals when students, faculty and staff begin using the facility next semester.

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After being delayed a week by this winter’s ice storm, Abilene Christian University officials and contractor HOAR Construction have agreed on an accelerated completion schedule that is projected to allow the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center open in time for the first classes of the fall semester.

Weather delays had led to a projected opening date in early September — at least one week past the ideal opening date of Aug. 29, the first day of classes. By accelerating the timetable, construction now is expected to be finished ideally by mid August, said Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president for Student Life. That would ideally allow about two weeks for faculty and staff to move in to their new offices, as well as for new workout equipment to be installed in the facility.

View from the jogging trail, looking northeast over the leisure pool.

Piece by piece, the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center is taking shape, inside and out.

Paint is on the walls in parts of the new facility, meaning that completion is not far behind in several key areas, including the Abilene Christian University Medical and Counseling Care Center. Read on for more updates and photos.

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Over the past week, crews have been installing glass windows surrounding the second floor of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center on the Abilene Christian University campus. The windows have only been installed on the south side of the building thus far. Each section of the exterior is in a different phase of the general steel-fireproofing-drywall-waterproofing-brick-windows process. More photos after the jump.

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Sun streams through full-length windows overlooking the new leisure pool.

Photographer Steve Butman also toured the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center this month. Here are some of his photos of the work as it progresses.

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The outline of the new leisure pool is visible beneath the towering framework of the facility's east-facing window.

Brick continues to overlay the fireproofing, drywall and waterproofing that turned the new student wellness center’s bones and skin first gray then yellow then black, but the internal work has remained largely hidden from view — until now.

Inside the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the outlines of a new leisure pool are in place, the concrete floor has been poured for the new jogging track, and the offices for the renamed Center for Counseling and Medical Care have taken shape.

Likewise, the reconfiguration of the original classrooms and faculty and athletics offices in Abilene Christian University’s original Gibson Center is no longer left to the imagination.

Follow the jump to see more photos and updates about the construction, now a little more than five months away from completion, and click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the photos.

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Above is a video of this month’s topping-out ceremony for the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Abilene Christian University. If you’re having trouble seeing this video, you can watch it here.