Current Project Updates
February 14, 2008
The Harper Center is on the last leg of the race rushing towards completion in early summer. The last of the masonry is being installed on the exterior north octagon and windows have been installed everywhere but the boardroom and north elevation. The completion of the roofs and the rest of the exterior finishes are progressing as weather permits. In addition, the contractor is getting ready to set the iconic Spire element on the Northeast corner of the building the first of April.
The activity within the interior of the Harper Center is not unlike a giant beehive. The walls on the fourth and first floors are in the process of being installed while on the second and third floors the wall are complete and being taped and painted. Plumbing, lighting and fire protection fixtures are being installed as cable tray and data/phone lines are being run. Interior doors are being hung while ceiling grid is being installed. In the next several weeks the contractor will start laying carpet in areas that have been finished.
The building user groups were able to take supervised tours of their spaces last month to help conceptualize the use of their space with existing and new furnishings. A Moving Committee has been organized and has already met several times in preparation for the move into the new building. The departments have started their “Spring Cleaning” early with the sorting through of years of “stuff” and shredding of old files. The move will be a phased activity with the first groups moving in July.
November 7, 2007
The fall brings windows, brick walls and weather tight roofs to the Harper Center. The masons are busily working on the west elevation of the building with the glass installer’s right behind them. As the weather starts to turn cooler temporary window enclosures are going up on the 3rd and 4th levels of the Harper Center in preparation for winter and heating the interior of the building.
The mechanical and electrical rough-ins have been completed and inspected on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th levels of the building. The switch over from temporary to permanent power for the building is scheduled for the first of December. The drywall contractor has started sheet rocking interior walls in areas of the building that are weather tight. Scaffolding has been built in the south atrium and will remain for the next 3 months until all the trades have completed their work in the area.
Kitchen equipment for the Catering kitchen, Sports Café and Coffee Shop has been ordered and will be delivered after the first of the year. Data/Voice cabling and Audio Visual equipment have also been bid and installation will start soon. The Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment packages are in the selection process with the first deliveries targeted for early spring.
As the winter months come upon us with the building weather tight the contractors will be working diligently on the interior finishes of the building. And like a butterfly in the spring, the building will burst out of its cocoon in all its brilliance and magnificent color.