CHANGE ON SCHEDULE
Seen or unseen, campus construction is on track
Members of the East Carolina community walking or driving by campus can see lots of construction this summer – but there’s even more going on that can’t always be seen.
In addition to new and renovated buildings, there’s also vital ongoing maintenance that keeps campus running. And everything is happening on schedule, according to John Fields, director of facilities engineering and architectural services.
While summer may seem slow with most of the students gone, it’s actually the busiest time of year for facilities crews, Fields said. “Our primary purpose is to help the university do its business of teaching, research and outreach. We do what we do at the convenience of campus.”
Right now more than $400 million worth of projects are in planning, design or construction, according to Fields. This includes new student centers on the main and health sciences campuses, the planned Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building, the Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium press box renovations, a new dental research lab on the fourth floor of Ross Hall, renovations to White, Clement and Greene residence halls, and more.
In addition to these projects, “there’s a lot of infrastructure work,” Fields said. “There’s a great deal of things going on that are not necessarily visible when walking by campus. Infrastructure is vital to allowing the institution to operate.”
For example, crews are working on things like roof repairs and electrical upgrades as well as barrier removal projects to bring buildings in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. They’re also maintaining and replacing pipe lines for steam and chilled water to keep the campus at the right temperature all year long. Plus, when a new building does come online, utilities services must be rerouted so as not to interrupt service to existing buildings.
“We spend a huge amount of time working on that,” Fields said. “There’s a lot of preparation, and a lot of moving parts.”
Main campus student center
There may not be much to see at the new student center site on main campus yet, but that doesn’t mean work isn’t being done. The $122 million project is “going great” and is on schedule to open in 2018, according to Fields.
“Everyone thinks nothing’s happening because there’s nothing going up out of the ground,” Fields said. “But they’re doing all the underground work right now, like power, water, sewer, storm water and communication lines.”
Going in where the Mendenhall Student Center parking lot was, the new student center’s foundation will actually be below the water table. This means the groundwater needs to be pumped out of the site, not just one time, but continually as long as the building stands, Fields said. This de-watering system will have its own generator in case of power outages, and will be similar to the system at Ross Hall, he said. “This means we don’t have to buy water for the chilled water system, so it’s sustainable,” he added.
Health sciences student center
The $34 million health sciences student center is on track to open in March 2017, according to Gina Shoemaker, assistant director of facilities engineering and architectural services. She is overseeing both new student center projects.
The structure of the new health sciences campus student center is taking shape.
The overall structure is in place, including exterior walls, floors and roofing. Workers are finishing up exterior brick and are starting to add several exterior glass panels. Work has also begun on interior walls along with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing.
“It’s not glamorous right now, but you can tell where the rooms will be,” Shoemaker said. “It’s really coming together. We’re going to have a gym, a multipurpose room where organizations can meet and hold functions, study spaces, a OneCard office, a campus police presence and computer repair services. This will be the first facility just for the health science students’ leisure and recreation needs.”
Ross Hall
The fourth floor of Ross Hall is no longer the empty shell it has been since the building opened. A new $7.7 million dental research lab is planned to open by Sept. 1, according to Robert Brown, assistant director of facilities engineering and architectural services.
This lab will be digitally connected to the eight Community Service Learning Centers across the state. Dentists can exchange images, tissue analysis and other information to treat patients from a distance and build their knowledge base, Brown said.
The contractor should complete the interior walls, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and major lab equipment installation by the end of July. Then the university will add furniture and smaller equipment by the end of August.
Meanwhile, business has continued as usual in the classrooms, offices and clinics on the first three floors.
“The occupants have been great dealing with construction above their heads,” Brown said. “We tried to minimize the impact by doing most of the noisy steps at night, but there’s still a lot to do during the day. All the faculty, staff and students have been tremendous. This project is successful only because of their resilience.”
Residence halls
Three high-rise residence halls – White, Clement and Greene – are receiving needed updates since they were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The new exterior of White Hall can be seen next to the current exterior of Clement Hall, which is also due to be upgraded.
White Hall will be complete in time for students to return in August as the last of three renovation phases is completed this summer. The whole building has been modernized inside and out, including a new exterior, according to Fields.
“It’s going to be beautiful compared to what it used to be,” Fields said.
The next hall to be modernized is Clement. This summer only the bathrooms are being redone, as students will live there this fall. Then students will move out to other halls for the spring semester as the bulk of the work will take place from January to July 2017.
Finally, Greene will be renovated during the 2018-2019 school year.
A dental research lab on the fourth floor of Ross Hall is on schedule to open in September.