Campus Construction Update, June 14, 2021

Check out this week's Campus Construction Update to learn the latest updates on App State construction projects taking place across campus. In this episode, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Matt Dull chats with University Communications' Dave Blanks about the construction progress for Laurel Creek Residence Hall, as well as New River Hall, located on the site of the former Justice Hall.

Transcript

Dave Blanks: This is Dave Blanks from University Communications, back once again with a Campus Construction Update, and I'm joined by Matt Dull. Hello, Matt. How's it going?

Matt Dull: Hello, Dave, going well. How are you today?

Dave Blanks: I'm great. It's good to talk to you. It's good to see you again. Although that's not part of the podcast, but it's very good to see you as well.

Matt Dull: Good to see you as well.

Dave Blanks: Yeah. So we're having a little bit of rain today, but we've been having some good weather for construction. Where do you want to start today?

Matt Dull: Yeah, we can jump right into Laurel Creek Hall, Building 300. As we've talked about in the past couple of weeks, masonry is pretty much complete on the building, and they've been finishing up cleaning in the masonry, so ...

Dave Blanks: I saw that today.

Matt Dull: Yeah, did you really?

Dave Blanks: Yeah, I saw them with like a bucket truck kind of thing ...

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: ... cleaning off some bricks and stuff.

Matt Dull: Yeah, so doing the last little bit, kind of going through and making sure everything's cleaned up and last little bits of the mortar and everything's cleaned off the brick and the stone. So yeah, that's going well, that's continuing. When we move inside of the building, kind of throughout the building, continuing that punch list inspection, and those little final finish details, and those student bedrooms, and hallways throughout the building. So, most of that is all wrapping up this week.

Matt Dull: Then the contractor will be going back in over the next couple of weeks and trying to get all of the punch list items wrapped up, so that at least the interior of the building, for the most part, other than that central core lobby, is really done here in the next week or two. Terrace level, like right on that core central lobby of the building, drywall is in, ceiling grid, ceiling tile, that storefront system, the main glass entrance to the building is going in. Doors and door hardware, and all the things to get that little central core of the building wrapped up.

Matt Dull: We're also getting ready to pour the terrazzo flooring. We talked, I think, about terrazzo last time.

Dave Blanks: Yeah, we did.

Matt Dull: That poured terrazzo floor, that'll be starting here in the next week or two. It's happened the last two buildings, and it's happening again with this building. Just schedule-wise, we're really trying to get all of the units, student living space done, and we then focus all of the final forces on that little central core area, laundry room and the main entrance lobby, and the res life office and that kind of stuff in the building. That's that last little bit to get finished up.

Matt Dull: So, focusing in on that now, getting that ready to go so that we can do the punch list of that area at the end of June. So hopefully then, all the interior of the building is really wrapped up. Maybe a few punch list items that'll be taking place in July, but for the most part, ready to move in furniture, when we jump into kind of early July. So, we're pretty close to being substantially complete in that building, being ready to have furniture. Then, we're really only like eight weeks away, probably, from students moving in.

Dave Blanks: Wow.

Matt Dull: Our first set of students will be moving in, our RAs and our grad student residential director, probably in about eight weeks from now. So, at some point, it kind of feels like a long way off when you think about August, but we're really just eight weeks or so from the start of people moving into that building.

Dave Blanks: That is right around the corner.

Matt Dull: So down to the last little bit.

Dave Blanks: What about the green space? How's that looking? How's that coming along, because I have not ventured into that area?

Matt Dull: Green space is coming along nicely. So, they're continuing to pour site walls, putting on that elk stone veneer onto those site walls to make it match everything else on campus.

Dave Blanks: Sure.

Matt Dull: Sidewalks are being poured. Wrapping up those brick pavers in the courtyard. So a lot of that stuff's continuing. There's a little ... I don't know what you would call it, like a smaller ... it's not connected to the larger quad area, but a little smaller are, that's really between Laurel Creek and Raven Rocks Hall. Kind of right across from Eggers and Bowie Hall, there's going to be a little courtyard there, a new stairwell put in.

Matt Dull: So all of that's really kind of the ... that's probably the heaviest amount of work left on the exterior, is getting that little courtyard, between those two buildings wrapped up. Because that's really been the main construction entrance to the site.

Dave Blanks: Yes.

Matt Dull: And that really has to be last. Once you get all of your heavy equipment out, then you don't need that access to the site. That's really the focus now. So they're working on that area, too. Last we'll be getting in all of the grass and plantings, and those kinds of things will start coming in as we get into early July. So that it's all ready for students to move in, in early August.

Dave Blanks: What kind of grass is it? That's kind of a weird question.

Matt Dull: That's a great question. I don't know. That's a really good question.

Dave Blanks: I really want to know what kind of grass is it.

Matt Dull: OK.

Dave Blanks: Yeah, but if you can make some calls. Get on the horn.

Matt Dull: Yeah, it's probably already on the plans. I think I could probably look it up for you.

Dave Blanks: I bet it is, yeah. Where else do you want to go today, Mr. Dull?

Matt Dull: Yeah, well, just wrapping up Laurel Creek and moving over to New River. Work does continue on that Trivette Circle. We talked about that last time.

Dave Blanks: Right, leveling it out.

Matt Dull: Getting that leveled out and more ADA accessible, and then paving their way out, really at that Stadium Heights Drive, from Trivette Circle back over to Jack Branch Road. So, that's going to continue through this month, and again, all of that really needs to be finished up by the time the first car is ready for move-in. We can't have any of that access blocked.

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: So that'll be kind of wrapping up late June, early July, all of that roadway work, to get it ready for students.

Dave Blanks: That'll be here fast.

Matt Dull: Yeah, it'll be here fast. Yeah.

Dave Blanks: So New River Hall though?

Matt Dull: Yeah, so moving across the street. New River Hall, things are moving along nicely there — finishing up those elevator and stair towers. The steel stairs are being installed in the stair towers. We actually go in and do that first while you're doing the framing. The construction workers are actually using the steel stairs, the real stairs that will be in there in the end, to move between the levels of the building.

Dave Blanks: Huh.

Matt Dull: So, rather than having a lot of scaffolding and that kind of stuff, they're going between levels. That's already in place.

Dave Blanks: Smart.

Matt Dull: Framing continues. So if you're at the low end of the building, kind of right at Stadium Drive, and you're looking up at the building, the first two floors are fully framed, and now they're starting to work on the third floor, as you look up. And then as you kind of move up, the floors continue through a larger part of the building. So, the third floor really gets you almost all the way across the building.

Matt Dull: Then as you go up, then there are full floors as you go all the way up the building. So yeah, so that's moving along nicely, already kind of finishing up that second level, moving onto the third level of framing as well. Of course, once framing begins or kind of finishes up on the level, then of course, all of our rough-in trades are moving in. So that's when your electrical and your plumbing are coming through and starting to do their rough-ins. That's getting ready to begin on the lower levels as we finished framing on those levels and we've moved on. So yeah, getting ready to start a pretty fast sequence, as we move up the building with framing, and then your MEP or mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-ins will be right after that. We'll be moving along pretty quickly with that building, pretty similar scheduled to Thunder Hill and Raven Rocks and Laurel Creek. From this point on, it kind of follows a pretty similar schedule on rhythm.

Dave Blanks: Sounds good. What else to cover today?

Matt Dull: I guess lastly, Gardner/ Coltrane —we've emptied Gardner/ Coltrane of all the surplus items, talked about that last time.

Dave Blanks: All the chairs you can bid on now.

Matt Dull: Yeah. All the stuff we don't need anymore, or moving ...

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: ... some furniture we can continue to use in other buildings, so that's occurred already. The abatement has started in the building and they'll continue that really throughout the summer. I think folks can expect kind of mid-fall, maybe October time frame. Once all the abatement's done, that's when that demolition of the structure will begin.

Matt Dull: So, still on track there, but it's really, for most people looking at the building, you're not really going to probably see much change to those two buildings, really until we get to the fall semester. Because most of that work is being done inside the building right now.

Dave Blanks: Got you.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: Not much to observe on the exterior.

Matt Dull: Not much to observe yet.

Dave Blanks: Yeah, but we'll get there. Anything else you want to cover today, Mr. Dull?

Matt Dull: I think that hits the highlights today.

Dave Blanks: All right. Short and sweet. Well, thank you, sir, for your time and we'll do it again.

Matt Dull: Absolutely. Thanks, Dave.