Campus Construction Update, May 6, 2019
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Matt Dull shares updates concerning construction projects on Appalachian's campus, including , the progress on the parking deck and building 100's natural light optimized design.
Transcript
Dave Blanks: Hey folks. My name's Dave Blanks from University Communications. We are back in the podcast studio with Mr. Matt Dull. Hello, Matt Dull.
Matt Dull: Hey, Dave. Thanks again.
Dave Blanks: Yeah, I'm glad you're here. I always call you Mr. Matt Dull. Is that OK?
Matt Dull: Yeah, that's fine.
Dave Blanks: All right, good, because it's too late. We've already done too many of these to go back. We're too committed. We're here for some campus construction updates, isn't that correct, Matt?
Matt Dull: That's right. Lots to update on today.
Dave Blanks: What's going on?
Matt Dull: I guess I'll start with the parking deck.
Dave Blanks: All right, yeah.
Matt Dull: It is moving. If you have not been on campus or not been over to that side of campus recently, it is worth driving by and taking a look at. We are probably a week to a week and a half away from being done with all of the precast part of the parking deck. All of those panels that have been brought up from down the mountain, majority of those have been installed.
We've got about a week, week and a half to continue installing those and finishing up the parking deck. It will look, from the outside, like a parking deck in about a week. It's pretty exciting to see. We've had some great weather on campus recently, and that's really helped out a lot to keep on schedule.
Dave Blanks: No more of those big cranes on campus there?
Matt Dull: The crane will be coming out of the construction site in the next few weeks, so it was a quick visit.
Dave Blanks: Yeah, really.
Matt Dull: It's fun to go by the site. You can skip a day or two and go back and just think, oh my gosh. There's a whole 'nother floor there of the parking deck done, so it's exciting to go over on the site and see how fast it's coming along.
Dave Blanks: When's that going to be ready for actually pulling your car into?
Matt Dull: We are on schedule to have that for the August 2019 opening of the fall semester, right before students get back to Boone, and have it open and be able to start for the fall semester and for the fall football schedules. We're excited about that.
Dave Blanks: Right on.
Matt Dull: Yeah.
Dave Blanks: What else?
Matt Dull: Also on the parking deck, kind of our next step after we do all of this precast and it goes in, we'll actually be going in and pouring in a topping layer of concrete to help even out the deck surface. The team will start that towards the end of this week or early next week after all the exams are finished up. That will be the next part of the process along with other things, like we have electricians on-site and plumbers on-site.
The plumbers are putting in all the drainage for the parking deck. The electricians are starting the work on electrical requirements for the building, as well as putting in conduit for security cameras and all the other, you know, data and all that stuff that you need to operate a parking deck structure. All that's starting now. It started last week and will continue through the summer. You think, too, just like with the parking deck, you think, it's just concrete, right?
Dave Blanks: Right.
Matt Dull: But you do have to have drainage in there. You have to have lighting. People like to park in a parking deck with lighting. You've got to have our security blue light systems, those telephone systems that will be able to access our Police Department.
Dave Blanks: Elevators.
Matt Dull: Elevators.
Dave Blanks: Yeah.
Matt Dull: We've got security cameras in there. We've got all sorts of things that are going in the building. There's a lot of different systems that help support a parking deck, and it's a lot more than just concrete.
Dave Blanks: For sure, yeah.
Matt Dull: A lot of work still to go. Even though it will look like a parking deck in another week or two, it looks like it's complete, there's a lot of work on the interior that we've got to finish up over the summer.
Dave Blanks: Don't pull in there, not yet.
Matt Dull: Don't pull into the parking deck yet, no.
Dave Blanks: OK. Not yet.
Matt Dull: We'll let you know when it's open.
Dave Blanks: What else, Matt?
Matt Dull: We've also got some continued site work going on with building 100 and 200.
Dave Blanks: All right, so a refresher. 100 is the one that's closest to Stadium Drive?
Matt Dull: That's right. 100 is the one that's adjacent to Stadium Drive, Trivette Hall, yeah. Right there on that corner.
Dave Blanks: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matt Dull: We're continuing to do site work on that, installing rigid inclusion piers. Again, those are those deep foundation drilling that's going on to really make sure that that building is set on a firm foundation. Then, we will actually start, beginning this week, to start installing the actual footings that the building will rest on. Those will go on top of those rigid inclusion piers.
Dave Blanks: What's up with the huge hill there? What's that?
Matt Dull: Yeah, it's a great question. The building is actually tiered. There's a bottom terrace level that's kind of even grade with Trivette Hall.
Dave Blanks: Uh-huh.
Matt Dull: We're going up the hill with the natural ... if you haven't walked over there or you don't walk that much, Stadium Drive has quite the elevation change from bottom to top.
Dave Blanks: True that.
Matt Dull: The building will actually follow and kind of stair step its way up Stadium Drive.
Dave Blanks: OK.
Matt Dull: You'll have that ground floor level that will be kind of a partial level that will be right across from Trivette Hall. Then, the next ground level up actually would be more even with where Stadium Drive is, about halfway up the building. That will be another ground floor. That ground floor would have a Stadium Drive entrance, is actually the main lobby area of the building.
Dave Blanks: Got you.
Matt Dull: All of the services for the building, our multipurpose room, some offices for University Housing, the kitchen, laundry room, all of that will actually be really on the second floor of the building.
Dave Blanks: The Ping-Pong table.
Matt Dull: The Ping-Pong table, all the fun amenities. The building stair steps up the hill.
Dave Blanks: I got you.
Matt Dull: It really works with the grade. That way, all of your units, your residential units, have light. You could certainly go in and kind of dig a big old hole, but who really wants to live in an apartment that has no windows? All of these suites and apartments have windows in the bedroom and in the common areas in the apartments. To be able to have that natural light coming into all the spaces, even the common spaces and stairwells and all the lobbies and study rooms, everything's really above grade. It requires to kind of stair step up Stadium Drive. That's why you see those kind of different levels out there right now.
Dave Blanks: Yeah, I've been curious. I thought they were just like, "Hey. Let's make a really big hill, and then park some piece of heavy equipment on top of it because it looks cool." It does look cool. I'm like, "That guy had fun."
Matt Dull: Yeah. There are some sections where they are piling up some of the dirt that they don't need right now, need later. There is a little bit of a mound there.
Dave Blanks: That's a cool design, and that makes a lot of sense. What else is going on, Matt? Do you have any other updates?
Matt Dull: Just a few small ... I say small things, they're big things. Things like site utilities are starting to really progress this week and the coming weeks. This week, we'll start our first large section of the stormwater drainage system. If you are on campus and you may be seeing some just gigantic crete pipes coming up Stadium Drive or on the site, and that's kind of part of that first phase of the underground water drainage systems from stormwater runoff and being able to divert that away from the site and into our stormwater retention systems.
Dave Blanks: Got you.
Matt Dull: Yeah. Those will be started this week, and then will progress over the next few weeks.
Dave Blanks: Excellent. Hey, if people are interested in getting the most up-to-date information beyond listening to our Campus Construction Update, they could check out the website, right? I mean the Future site?
Matt Dull: Yeah, that's right. The Future site is a great spot. We're putting in pictures on a regular basis of construction progress. If you want to go see what the parking deck looked like from a few days ago, it's a great resource to be able to see just how quick that parking deck is coming up. I know that's a concern for a lot of people, about making sure we have adequate parking for this fall semester, and you can continue to track progress on that parking deck on the site.
Dave Blanks: Absolutely. That's appstate.edu/appalachians, with an S, -future. Appalachians-future. Yeah, like you said, a picture from, let's see, this is from April 30th, so very recently. It still has the crane on-site, because they're still installing those prefab concrete pieces. It looks really impressive. It's cool, so check it out. Matt Dull, any other updates for today?
Matt Dull: I think that's it for today. We're continuing to work on some designs for building 300, got to keep things moving. This is a fast-moving project over three phases.
Dave Blanks: How long is that design process, and when is the build for that? I know I've asked you all these things before.
Matt Dull: Yeah. The design process, we started the first phase of that process, gosh, probably mid-February. We will continue to work on designs for that building through the rest of 2019. Construction will start on building 300 in spring of 2020, so early spring, as soon as we can get into the ground and actually start work on it.
Dave Blanks: Cool.
Matt Dull: It'll be here before we know it.
Dave Blanks: Matt, thanks a lot for coming by and giving us an update. We'll do it again next week, OK?
Matt Dull: Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it.
