Archive for ‘Update’

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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A cluster of fabric, carpet and paint samples in Mary Reyes' office gives a glimpse of the colors students, faculty and staff will see in the wellness center.

While construction crews install the floors and ceilings in the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, it’s up to Mary Reyes to determine how they’ll look when students first walk through the doors.

Reyes, the Abilene Christian University director of campus aesthetics, and her student worker, Alex Potess, for several weeks have been working full-time on what materials, colors and furnishings will decorate the wellness center within the allotted budget.

The decisions balance appearance, practicality and cost, Reyes says.

“The recreation center is vibrant and energetic and needs to convey that,” she said, whereas space for the Medical and Counseling Care Center needs to be “a comforting environment. That’s a place where students know it’s safe. You see more earth tones over there.”

Final decisions have been made on furniture choices, from lobby seating to classroom chairs to counseling couches and office furnishings, while plans are taking shape on such items as wall color and flooring surfaces.

“Everything from floor to ceiling,” Reyes said, “that conversation has happened.”

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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Nearly 90 applicants have been whittled down to five finalists seeking to become the first executive director of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Two candidates have visited the Abilene Christian University campus for interviews, while three others have been interviewed over the phone, said Dr. Jeff Arrington, assistant vice president of Student Life. He said he expects a final decision before the end of the month.

“We hope to have appointed the executive director by the end of April, and we hope for that person to visit campus early in May,” Arrington said. “I want this person to be here and start connecting with students on a broader basis” before the end of the semester.

The executive director would officially take over his or her duties June 1, the beginning of ACU’s 2012 fiscal year.

The two finalists interviewed on campus met with about 10 faculty and staff members, as well as officers from the Students’ Association, Arrington said.

The executive director will be the top administrator of the facility, responsible for overseeing the budget, policies and training processes in the wellness center. He will directly oversee Dr. Kerri Hart, who will be director of training and fitness programming, and Joel Swedlund, who will be director of facility operations.

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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Crews have begun installing yellow sheetrock over the fireproofed steel beams of the center's southwest corner.

The Feb. 1 snowstorm, which shut down most of Abilene for four days, had its affects on the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, as well.

Work on the facility was set back four days because of the icy conditions, pushing the projected opening into the first week of September, said Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean of Student Life.

“Our goal is to have the certificate of occupancy in mid August,” Thompson said. “In terms of moving in for a turn-key opening, we’re looking at the end of August or the first week of September.”

The original completion date in ACU’s contract with the site’s contractors was Aug. 1, with leeway built in for weather delays to push that deeper into the summer. Thus far, weather — including this month’s historic ice, snow and bitter cold — has delayed the project between nine and 13 days, Thompson said.

With warmer, sunnier days here again, construction has resumed its seemingly frenetic pace. Crews continue to erect steel beams all over the facility in hopes of placing the last beam before the end of the month. Here is a brief update on where construction stands as of Wednesday:

Northwest corner

• Medical and Counseling Center for Care
• Near Teague Special Events Center

Steel framing has begun forming the facility’s medical space, with fireproofing materials following shortly behind. Work on cast stone and brick continues in this area, which remains the furthest along — at least by appearances from the exterior.

Southwest corner

• Basketball gym, running track
• Near Moody Coliseum

Work continues on installing bricks and cast stone, and the second floor, which includes the elevated running track, continues to take shape.

Southeast corner

• Main entrance
• Near McGlothlin Campus Center and Chapel on the Hill

Crews continue to erect steel framing in this area.

East-central face

• Pools, bouldering wall, offices
• Faces ACU Drive and the Hunter Welcome Center

Steel framing continues to go up here, capping with the placement Friday of the top-most beam in the facility, the reason for tomorrow’s topping out ceremony. Crews continue to cover the steel with fireproofing material, the grayish white substance that now covers many of the beams visible at the site. Structural concrete for the second floor will soon be poured, and crews have begun installing drywall in what will be the facility’s classrooms and faculty/staff offices.

Northeast corner

• Locker rooms, showers, racquetball courts,
• Near Eager Tennis Pavilion

Steel is going up in this area, as well, with roof installation to begin shortly.

The east-facing side of the building.

We will be posting updates on the construction of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center at least biweekly beginning with today’s post. This will be one of several regular blog features we will roll out in the coming month.

Brickwork on the northwest corner of the center, future home of the Medical and Counseling Center for Care.

Northwest corner

• Medical and Counseling Center for Care
• Near Teague Special Events Center

Crews are installing brick on the outer wall (at right) and erecting drywall in what will become the new home of the ACU Counseling Center. The Medical Clinic will begin to take shape as crews will soon begin erecting the steel framing for that area.

Southwest corner

The southwest corner of the site, including brick on the exterior wall of the first floor and steel surrounding the future track on the second.

• Basketball gym, running track
• Near Moody Coliseum

Walls have been erected over the new basketball gym, and crews are installing the sprinkler system for the facility. On the second floor, portions of the running track have been poured.

Brick has also begun going up along the southwest side of the building that faces the campus mall. The outward appearance of the facility — especially the overhang that will cover a sidewalk along the center’s perimeter, similar to the south side of the Hunter Welcome Center — is becoming clearer.

Southeast corner

• Main entrance
• Near McGlothlin Campus Center and Chapel on the Hill

The main entrance and lobby of the SRWC will be in this area, which also includes the intramural offices and the juice bar. The cement floor has been poured, and crews have begun erecting the steel frame for the welcome area.

Further inside the building, the cardio/weight floor also has been poured, with crews erecting steel framing there, as well.

East-central face

The scaffolding provides an outline of what will become a giant wall of glass facing east. The skeleton of the center's southeast corner of the center in the background.

• Pools, bouldering wall, offices
• Faces ACU Drive and the Hunter Welcome Center

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center is the entirely new east-central face, which will include the new leisure pool and bouldering wall, as well as new classrooms, faculty and staff offices.

The construction is also the most dynamic here, as scaffolding rings what will be a massive, curving glass wall separating the new pool from an outdoor patio. The top of the building here will be the highest point on the entire structure, and crews are erecting steel in this area, as well.

The northeast corner of the center, which will feature newly constructed lockers and showers.

The new pool has taken shape, as its concrete walls have been poured. The original pool is being renovated, and it will be used for competition and training.

Northeast corner

• Locker rooms, showers, racquetball courts,
• Near Eager Tennis Pavilion

Crews are installing electrical lines and plumbing, as well as erecting walls in this area.

Photos by Steve Butman (east face, northwest corner) and Paul A. Anthony (southwest and northeast corners).