With the exterior complete and the interior finish work picking up pace, the Tanner Building Addition is quickly coming to life.
The addition’s roof is completed and its two elevators are being installed, while the workers are painting the first and second floors and hanging Sheetrock on the third and fourth floors. In some places the first coat of primer paint is in place. The atrium connecting the existing building to the new addition is close to completion as well.
The construction is on schedule, with a projected completion date at the end of July 2008. Last winter brought above-average precipitation and cold weather, which affected construction, but the crews have been able to make up most of the lost time. About ninety construction workers are on-site each weekday, and some are working Saturday shifts to ensure it is completed in time for fall 2008 classes.
“We recently took more than fifty faculty and administrators through the building,” says Richard Dalebout, associate professor of business law and building committee chair. “There was almost universal approval—a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’ The consensus was this will be a tremendous addition to the Tanner Building.”
Once the construction is completed, the university will take over the project, laying the carpet and installing the décor in August.
The parking structure adjacent to the addition will be finished in mid-May, but it’s not scheduled to be opened for general use until Fall Semester 2008.
“It’s an exciting project,” says Kip Walter, Tanner Addition project manager for Jacobsen Construction, “We’re just pushing to get it done so classes can be held in the fall.”
