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BY MARTHA MARRAZZA and IAN YARETT

In print | Published October 6, 2005

Administrators plan to move into Parrish soon as construction nears completion, with most major offices returning to the building between Oct. 26 and Nov. 11.

Project Manager Susan Sayer said in an e-mail that the construction crew is on schedule and faces few complications at present. While one elevator will not be completely installed for those administrators who move into Parrish in October, construction officials had anticipated and accounted for that delay.

Stuart Hain, the associate vice president for facilities and services, stressed that the construction is right on target. “Admissions will move into Parrish over a three-day period beginning Oct. 26,” Hain said. “The project is on track for completion by the end of October, with the exception of minor complications that will be corrected as they arise.”

Some first floor renovations will benefit all students on campus. “A new student lounge on the first floor will enhance the post office,” Sayer said. “This whole first-floor zone is destined to become an important student communications center.” In an effort to make the first floor accessible to all students, the facilities team is investigating continuing complaints about new student mailboxes, Sayer said. However, student lounges on the first and fourth floors will take a little longer to complete; they will not be opened until students return from fall break.

Students got a first look at some of the first-floor Parrish renovations this week when a temporary construction wall was removed near the post office. Instead of a wall covered in advertisements, students can see the space that will become the central Parrish lounge and the completion of work on the grand staircase that will lead to Admissions.

For those students who live in Parrish, a wide range of improvements has already been implemented, Sayer said in an e-mail. “Student rooms have an updated electrical service, new lights, new paint and sprinkler work on [floors] three and four,” Sayer said.

The third-floor residence hall wings have new pocket lounges for their occupants." A new plasma TV has already been mounted in the space that will become the Parrish fourth-floor lounge.

Parrish residents are particularly anxious for all elevators to resume operation. “Walking up all those stairs is tough, especially after soccer practice,” said Chris Szeto ’09, who lives on the fourth floor of Parrish.

“When we would do two-a-day practices, my legs hurt so much. It’s a pain to lug laundry up and down, too,” Szeto said.

Sayer cites the completion of the elevator system as an important aspect of the project. “New elevators and central egress stairs are important components of the project,” she said. “The east elevator and east stair will be open when students return from fall break. The west elevator and stair will be complete by the end of the month.”

While most of the renovations are updates of pre-existing structures, the most long-lasting changes of the project have occurred at the center of the building. “The center sections of the first, second and third floors have seen the most dramatic change in this project,” Sayer said.

“New structural steel and other structural modifications in the center of the building strengthen the building and prepare it for the next 100 years. A new central stair is nearing completion that will guide visitors from the first floor up to the second floor,” she said.

Installing the sprinkler system in all parts of the building will wrap up some time in November. “A new sprinkler is being installed throughout the building. Most areas are complete,” Sayer said. “The system will be finished, activated, and inspected by mid November. Building occupants will be informed of the exact dates as we finalize the schedule.”

The credit union’s Nov. 11 move into Parrish offices on the first floor will mark the final major move back into the building.

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