Construction continues as scheduled

Georgia College & State University’s cafeteria construction on Hancock Street is going smoothly and is the beginning of a whole new look for the campus’s eatery.

Parking always appears to be a big concern with students. Some students have noticed the number of spots being confiscated by the construction workers at the corner of Hancock and Clarke Street. This is only temporary.

Some students have found the construction of the cafeteria on Hancock Street to be a nuisance.

“The lunchroom work is taking forever,” said Keith Fitzpatrick, a junior special education major. “I don’t think they will ever get done.”

“Frankly I’m tired of walking around the cones and the retaining fence,” said Ty Howell, a junior biology major. “But I reckon there are sacrifices to be made for an advancement on such a fine building.”

Despite the disapproval from students, the construction is on schedule and moving in a timely manner.

“We are shooting to be finished with the inside work of the cafeteria by June,” said John Webb, structural superintendent for the construction division. “We hope to be finished with the outside work before the students return in the fall of 2003.”

Progress is being made daily as long as the weather permits.
The only problems the workers encountered were a small snag with the DOT and the free falling rain causing drainage problems for days.

“Eighty to 90 percent of the site is finished with only a few more fittings to put in,” said Webb. “Structural Steel started this past Monday and is supposed to be finished by the first week in February. By the end of February there should be a roof over it and the floor slabs should be poured. By the end of March all of the metal studs and sheathing should be finished and then work on the inside will begin with sheet rock, electrical and mechanical work.”

More than space will be added to the new lunchroom. There will be new bathrooms, offices and an entry installed in the renovated building.

“We are adding a men’s and women’s restroom where the old president’s dining hall use to be,” said Webb. “It’s one large room that has the flexibility to be divided with a foldable partition wall.”

“We are not just expanding the seating capacity in the dining hall, downstairs in the basement we are also increasing office space for student activities,” said Webb.

“In the new section upstairs we are adding 3,462 square feet and downstairs we are adding 1760 square feet,” said Webb.

“We are accomplishing another task with the remodeling of the lunchroom by making it blend in with the way the campus was made as far as the historic integrity of the campus with all of the columns and that type of look,” said Rick Ruark, the associate director of plant operations.
“The existing building stuck out like a sore thumb.”

There are two more possible phases in the completion of the dining hall building. Phase one was the work on the entry side of the building on Clarke Street including the programmable sign. Phase two is where the men are working now on Hancock Street with the lengthening of the building. Phase three is the current remodeling of the on campus bookstore entry and a patio area that extends out onto front campus. If the fourth phase is to occur it will require work on the parking lot side of the building by Hoke Dining Hall.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 24 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry