Construction Activity Report 9/26/08
To the Law School Community:
First, it should be noted that renovations to the 1st floor classrooms in the West Building are nearing completion. The current target date for receiving approval to occupy the space is the week of October 27. Students and professors on temporary class-meeting schedules (e.g., Torts and the Professor Laby Business Organizations section) should continue following them until further notice.
Professors and students assigned to Classroom 204 have experienced several noise disruptions this week due to the installation of new student lockers on the floor directly above. The locker bases must be anchored to the floor and this process requires drilling into the concrete slab. While the contractor has been trying to accomplish much of the work between 7 and 9 am, it has unfortunately been necessary to continue the work during the class day to keep the renovation project moving forward. In addition, there is ongoing related renovation work outside the new locker room which is also creating noise. This includes using an anchor gun to install supports for a suspended ceiling. The contractor's estimate is that these noisy activities above Classroom 204 will occur intermittently through next Friday, October 3.
Later in the semester, work will commence on the construction of a new Cafe which is also in the area above Classroom 204. All attempts will be made to schedule noisy work in the off-class hours, but there may be occasions when it will be necessary for some disruptive work to occur during the class day.
The final phase of the renovation project will have an impact on professors and students assigned to Classroom 206 and Classroom 207. The former library space on the 3rd floor of the building will be demolished to allow for the construction of two new classrooms and a suite of offices for the school's three law journals.
Demolition activity will create the most disruption, but this work has been scheduled for the 11 pm - 7 am shift, commencing on Monday, September 29. Construction on the 3rd floor is expected to begin in mid-October. Once again, the noisy activity will be caused by shooting anchors for floor partitions and ceiling supports into the concrete slab. Other intermittent short-term noise may occur during classes, but every attempt will be made to limit such activity as much as possible without jeopardizing the project schedule. The renovation project is expected to be fully completed by early January 2009. When the 1st Floor classrooms are ready at the end of October, it may be possible to adjust meeting schedules to provide some relief from the noise disruptions. Please watch for notices about any changes in classroom assignments.
Everyone involved with the construction project truly apolgizes for the inconveniences to the law school community and hopes that you all understand every effort is being made to keep disruptions to a minimum. Your patience is appreciated during these remaining three months before the overall project is completed. The Spring semester will bring an outstanding building into full operation. It is hoped that the availability of new student spaces, the cafe, more library study spaces, new seminar rooms, and the renovated 1st floor will cause everyone to deem the sacrifices of the next several weeks to have been worthwhile.
John Podolski
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