In with the view: After delays, new gym to be finished by fall
Sean Quincey/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 03/06/2008 01:30:53 AM PSTOut with the old and in with the view.
Just like that, with Tuesday's East Gym finale officially in the books, the attention now turns to the nearly completed Kinesiology and Athletics Buidling, which will house the Jacks through their next era of indoor sports.
And what a house it will be. When it finally gets done.
”I spent a good 20 years in the East Gym as a student-athlete and as a coach. It brings fond memories for me personally,” HSU Athletic Director Dan Collen said. “It's hard to beat the East Gym, but I'm excited about the new facility.”
With each passing day there is more to get excited about. Project Manager Traci Ferdolage led the Times-Standard through a guided tour of the gym on Wednesday and revealed a facility only months from being completed.
The crew was literally filling the Olympic-sized swimming pool, fixtures for basketball goals were already installed into the ceiling and the new, NCAA regulation hoops -- which can be rolled away and will not be attached to the gym -- were wrapped in cellophane, thousands of memories yet to pass through their orange rims.
Most of the windows were in, which is a noteworthy feat considering that natural light shines everywhere in the building except for the locker rooms and storage rooms.
”I feel like we finally turned the corner,” she said.
It's about time. The $44.8 million project, which broke ground in summer 2006, has seen its share
of wrong turns. Ferdolage said inclement weather has added roughly 10 days to construction, but the big obstacle has been the school's ability to physically receive building supplies.
With steel already in high demand, it's been a challenge to get the stuff to Humboldt County, especially when other, more expensive projects, based in more highly populated areas, demand attention and supplies.
”Our geographical isolation affects us,” Ferdolage said. “Things certainly have not gone as quickly as the original plan called for, but it still does not affect the contractual construction plan.”
HSU ambitiously predicted that the new building, which holds a 2,000-seat gym, the aforementioned pool and a dance studio, was going to be completed by last fall. The entire project, which includes the demolition of the natatorium connected to the West Gym, is scheduled to be completed by January of 2009.
Humboldt State spokesman Paul Mann said the roof and most of the siding is scheduled to be installed by March 20, and those who will occupy office space inside the building could begin moving in as early as May. The facility could be open for use in the summer, but Mann said that by the time the fall semester begins, it will be ready for classes and full-time occupancy.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Swimming Pool
Lit by three gigantic west-facing windows and another trio of 16x24-foot skylights, a six-lane Olympic-sized pool overlooks Union Street and is the first sight you see when driving up the hill toward the East Gym.
Two of the three windows can be pulled open, letting fresh air and the sight of Redwood trees -- no buildings can be seen from the pool -- flood the room.
Area has a “wet” class room with furnishings made to withstand water. Locker rooms open directly to pool. Also has smaller, more shallow pool for rehabs, classes, etc.
Gym
Will hold 2,000 fans (up from 1,400 in the East Gym) and bleachers will come in from all four walls, creating a close, intimate atmosphere.
Has a much more intricate and advanced heating/cooling system. Indoor temps monitored electronically and air pumped in from outside and blown through vents in the floor instead of from above, like conventional gyms.
Highest point is 45 feet from the floor. Natural lighting enters from above court and highest points of far wall. Gym sits on second floor.
Construction
Original feasibility study, done in 1993, called for a project with 100,000 assignable square feet. Ten years later, HSU secured funds for the current 82,695-square foot building.
HSU broke ground on the project in the summer of 2006 with a lofty goal of completing the gym by last fall. However, inclement weather delayed construction, and the rural location of the campus made it hard on companies to deliver supplies, which are in high demand in other, more populated areas.
By May HSU hopes to begin moving in and the building should be ready to use in the summer. Demolition of the old swimming pool should be done by January.
Funding
The project will cost $44.8 million, $31.6 million of which is dedicated to construction. Practically all the costs were paid for using funds from Proposition 55, which passed in 2003.
HSU paid for two feasibility studies -- 1993 and 2003 -- and other relatively minor costs. Those studies were forwarded to the CSU Chancellor's office for approval.
The original plan was rejected because HSU's enrollment couldn't justify such a big project, and finally the Chancellor's office agreed to fund the smaller building in '03. Once approved, the plans were put on a sort of CSU-wide “wish list,” with projects from the state's 23 schools on it.
When HSU's number came up, it was allowed to break ground.
Future
Expect the wide-open, airy, even sporty feel of the new Kinesiology and Athletics Building to spread down to the Redwood Bowl.
The natatorium -- swimming pool area -- that connects to the West Gym is slated for demolition by January of next year. The area between the football field and KAB will cleared out, replaced by a new covered walkway and landscaping.
Don't expect, however, any relief in parking. Plans for a parking structure are virtually nonexistent and the only new spots created by the KAB are for the handicapped.
Email this topic to a friend | Printable Version
posted February 23, 2007 07:52 PM
