01/25/08

Sophomore Kome Okiomah is getting used to the sound of construction outside his second floor room in Jolliffe Hall.

“The noise is like your own alarm going off,” he said. “All the hammering and noise makes it hard to sleep.”

Okiomah, along with other residents of Jolliffe and Horn and Markham Apartments, has been able to watch the progress of the new living and learning center from the comfort of his own room.

“I feel pretty good about the work we’ve done,” site superintendent David Waddle said. “The second and third floor will be going up pretty quickly and the roof tresses.”

Gary Walbridge, director of the physical plant, said construction is right on schedule.

“It’s on track,” he said. “They’ve been working pretty much every day.”

Walbridge said crews have been working eight-hour days throughout interterm, with the exception of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“They are starting some wiring on the first floor,” Walbridge said. “And as they go up with the building they will work on the plumbing. They’ll really get busy when they get the roof on.”

The roof, Waddle said, is one of the next phases of construction that students will notice as they walk by the construction site.

“At least half a dozen people are working every day,” Waddle said. “But if the ground or the wood is frozen, then the number of workers needed varies.”

The weather is something Waddle said has proven problematic at the site.

“We can deal with the cold,” he said. “But we can’t deal with the snow and ice. You can’t get rid of it.”

Workers aren’t the only ones having trouble adapting to the weather.

Because of a shortage in parking, students have to walk farther in the cold.

“The parking is just outrageous,” Okiomah said.

Junior Paul Pfeifler, who is on hall staff in Jolliffe, said he agrees with Okiomah that parking is a problem.

“The lack of parking really sucks,” he said. “I really don’t like not being able to see my car.”

Pfeifler said he thinks the noise has lessened.

“They’ve done a great job of starting later,” he said. “They’ve been very conscious about keeping the noise down, especially when they’re working near the building.”

Walbridge said he doesn’t consider the parking to be a huge concern at this point.

“People want to park as close to the union as they can,” he said. “And that’s not happening now, and they’re having to walk. But it’s a small campus.”

Junior Brett Woods, who lives in the apartments, said walking doesn’t bother him; it’s the weather that he doesn’t like.

“The worst part about the construction is walking because of how cold it is outside,” he said.

Despite the cold weather, Walbridge said crews would continue to work, blocking off sections of Dearborn Street when necessary.

“They will block the street off as they need to,” Walbridge said. “The city loaned us some barricades, but it is on an as-needed basis.”

As construction continues, Walbridge said representatives from the university might travel to Avila University to view another residence hall designed by Student Suites.

“It would give us a sense of what the building might look like,” he said. “We aren’t anticipating any changes, but it would be a comfort factor.”walk farther in the cold.

Junior Paul Pfeifler, who is on hall staff in Jolliffe, said he agrees with Okiomah that parking is a problem, but he said he thinks the noise has lessened and starts later.

“They’ve been very conscious about keeping the noise down, especially when they’re working near the building,” he said.

Walbridge said he doesn’t consider the parking to be a huge concern at this point.

“People want to park as close to the union as they can,” he said. “And that’s not happening now, and they’re having to walk.”

Junior Brett Woods, who lives in the apartments, said it’s the weather that he doesn’t like.

“The worst part about the construction is walking because of how cold it is outside,” he said.

Despite the cold weather, Walbridge said crews would continue to work, blocking off sections of Dearborn Street when necessary.

As construction continues, Walbridge said representatives from the university might travel to Avila University to view another residence hall designed by Student Suites.