Following a symbolic groundbreaking for Abernethy Village held September 19, and the demolition one month later of the circa-1966 Abernethy Residence Hall, all is on schedule and going according to plan with the construction of five new residence halls on campus. That according to Catawba College’s Director of Facilities Henry Haywood who said those residence halls will be ready to use by the beginning of ’07-’08 academic year.
Summit Development of Salisbury, which is serving as general contractor for the project, has poured footings for two of the residence halls which will face Summit Avenue, Haywood said. Electrical and plumbing for these two halls also are being installed prior to the slabs being poured for them. Where Abernethy Residence Hall stood, a retaining wall is being removed prior to grading of the site which will prep it for footings for the three other residence halls.
;"Every other Tuesday, contractors, engineers, project managers and college personnel meet to discuss problems, change orders, and needed revisions from either the architects or engineers so we can continue to stay on track with deadlines and budget," Haywood explained. "This two-way communications between the institution and those assisting us with this project is essential to its success."
Hoke Hall
Across the campus from the residence halls construction site, a transformation of Hoke Hall is in progress. Its lower level has been completely renovated to create a new server room and office space for the College’s Information Technology (IT) Department. Housed for years in the basement of Corriher Linn Black Library, the IT Department now enjoys state of the art equipment with a generator back-up for the server room, new furniture and a conference room for meetings.
This renovation occurred over a three-month period which began in late summer, Haywood said. To make way for the IT move, the Lerner Wellness Center and the Sayakini office, were relocated. Fitness equipment from the Wellness Center was relocated to the gymnasium, while the Sayakini office moved to the third floor of Hoke.
Walls and ceilings on the lower level of Hoke then were demolished and the electrical service was upgraded to include new wiring and lighting. New air-conditioning units were installed in the server room for redundancy and a new fire-suppressant system also was installed there.
Now, work is underway on the second floor of Hoke Hall to ready it for the temporary relocation of the College’s library staff and resources. Computer and phone drops, as well as enhanced electrical work, are in process to accommodate this relocation which is scheduled to occur over the Christmas holidays, Haywood said.
"Due to weight of the library stacks, the existing floors in Hoke are not adequate to support the weight load," Haywood explained. "To house these resources and to make them available to our students and faculty during the renovation of the library, we’ll be bringing four mobile units onto campus. Three of these units will be located between Hoke and Stanback, and the remaining unit will be located behind the library. Plans are to house books and other resources from the library in the mobile units during this period, while the library staff will occupy the second floor of Hoke. In effect, Hoke will become the temporary home on campus for our library for the next year."
The Corriher Linn Black Library and the Cannon Student Center
The first order of business in the Corriher Linn Black Library will be to safely and completely address the environmental issues there, Haywood said.
The Salisbury-based architectural firm of Bill Burgin and Associates, which has worked with Catawba over the past several years on plans for the library renovation, is now finalizing the construction drawings so the work can be let for bids.
"In months prior to this, we completed facility use surveys with faculty, staff and students which brought us to this point of final construction drawings," Haywood continued. "Looking ahead to the renovation of our student center, we have begun some preliminary meetings with students, faculty and staff to access their wants and needs in an upgraded facility. This is same sort of due diligence we completed for all of the construction and renovation projects which we have underway on campus.
"The renovation of the Cannon Student Center will complete this phase of projects associated with the College’s master plan projection."
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