Spring Construction Update

Colleagues,

As you can see, construction at the Mohegan Campus is moving along rapidly, with both the Shop Wing and the GYM/Cafeteria Wing progressing a little ahead of schedule.  Here are some of the highlights and some of the things we need to plan for:

·         Week of March 12^th - They will be saw-cutting flooring slabs in the main boiler room to correct drainage problems.  This may be a little noisy, but should not otherwise impact any of our activities.

·         Spring Break – March 19^th to March 23^rd

o        There will be asbestos abatement activities in Rooms 202 and 210.  These activities may extend slightly into the main hallway, but access to all other second floor offices and classrooms will still be available.

o        On the third floor of the Classroom Building, the contractors will remove all ceiling tiles and grids in all classrooms and offices in preparation for work this summer.  This will be somewhat unsightly between Spring Break and the end of school, but since this ceiling removal activity was originally scheduled for last summer, we have been fortunate to avoid this disruption for most of the year.  During these ceiling removal activities, access to the third floor will be limited to authorized staff only. 

·         March 26^th to April 1^st – The Gallery will be closed for removal of selected stained glass panels to take with us to our new campus.  Since it has not yet been decided when the contractor will begin limited demolition of the Gallery after that date, we must assume at this time that the Gallery will no longer be usable for College activities.  If this changes, we’ll let you know.

·         Week of May 14^th -  May 18^th – As classes and activities are completed in the Classroom Building, we will begin to remove all furniture and equipment from all spaces.  Items removed will either be put into temporary storage or moved directly to new temporary office and classroom locations in the Shop Wing or the GYM/Cafeteria Wing.  (Specific move locations will be available to everyone shortly after Spring Break.) As you will probably recall, there will be no TRCC classes or activities in the Classroom Building during the summer while classrooms and labs on the second and third floor are renovated. We will then return to these renovated spaces in late August in time to begin Fall Semester 2007.  We will not reoccupy the classes and offices on the first floor.  Instead we will use classrooms in the Shop Wing to make up for the loss of these spaces.

·         Approximately Mid-May – At the present rate of construction, temporary offices and work spaces in the Shop Wing should be available to begin the move of faculty and staff from the Annex. (Packing boxes and instructions will be provided to everyone by the beginning of May to pack up their belongings to move to the new spaces or to take home.)  When these moves are all complete, the Annex, Garage, and Gallery will be turned over to the contractor for demolition.   With any luck, this demolition, and the related dirt and noise, will be completed before the start of fall classes.

·         Early to mid-June – Work on the GYM/Cafeteria Wing should be completed by this time and moves will be scheduled for Student Services and Cashier staffs to move to temporary offices in that wing at that time.  These moves should all be completed by July 1^st so that we can avoid as much disruption to registration activities as possible.  Following the relocation of these staffs, our existing student services offices will be turned over to the contractor for demolition and construction of their new Administrative Wing.

·         Other Items of Interest:

o        Along with the completion of the Shop Wing and the GYM/Cafeteria Wing, the site-work and parking areas surrounding these new buildings will also be completed, greatly improving the appearance of the area.  This will also provide parking that will be more readily accessible to these new buildings most of which will be designated as faculty and staff parking. At the same time however, existing faculty and staff parking will be closed and used as the construction “lay-down” area for the new administrative wing.  The net number of dedicated staff parking spaces will remain about the same, but the spaces will be spread around the perimeter of the new buildings rather than gathered together in the same location.

o        In response to frequent questions on these subjects, we will have access to the Auditorium, the Library, the modular Classrooms, the Bookstore, the main IT and Communications Closets, and the Registrar Files Storeroom on the 2^nd Floor throughout our remaining time on the Mohegan Campus. The Cafeteria on the Mohegan Campus will be closed right after graduation and will reopen in a different location in the new GYM/Cafeteria Wing when the fall semester begins. 

On the Thames Valley Campus, progress is a little less visible, but moving forward nevertheless.  The final building permit from the State Fire Marshall has been held pending issues with the State Traffic Commission and the State Department of Environmental Protection.  It appears however, that these issues will be resolved shortly and construction can begin near the end of this month.  In the meantime, we are completing plans for our portion of the renovations in the North Wing and should be starting work shortly.  Our general contractor and construction administrator have also been using their time productively reviewing and clarifying specifications, preparing submittals, and finalizing details with subcontractors. This should permit construction to jump off to a fast start once the go-ahead from DPW is received.

My special thanks to everyone for your continuing support and patience with the many annoyances and inconveniences caused by the project.  Your good natured responses to the day-to-day frustrations facing all of us and our students have been a tremendous help and a major factor in minimizing problems throughout the college.  Things are going to get even busier as we approach graduation, so please keep up the good work and don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions or suggestions.