Construction on the new Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business building is on track to be completed this August.
All of the tilt-up style walls of the building are in place.
Steve Smith, director of facilities and planning services, explained that the tilt-up method is much more time and cost-efficient than others.
“Technically the tilt-up style allows the panels to be built on the ground and raised in a very fluid effort so that a crane can come on site and erect the building shell in a very quick effort. In other types of construction—masonry, for instance—it’s a slower process to enclose the building,” Smith said.
Since the walls have been built, the framework has been reinforced with structural steel.
“Right now, if you look in, there they are framing the walls from the second floor moving to the first. In a few weeks the walls are framed out, meaning the steel studs are in and drywall is commencing,” Smith said.
While the walls are being framed the team is concurrently roughing the plumbing and electrical systems that will go in the walls and ceilings.
Smith explained that one of the biggest milestones will be adding the roof to the building to make it weather proof, which will allow the team to work on the interior uninhibited by changing weather conditions.
“The local contractor we’re using has a great team. They are very professional,” Smith said. Tilden-Coil Constructors is based locally in Riverside.
The business building will be the first at CBU that will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) qualified structure.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council at usgbc.org, “LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.”
“The building actually has to be wrapped up with a date in mind that we can test, run and commission all the systems. It’s a win for our team because the building actually comes online 30- 45 days before we actually need it so we go through and see that all the building systems are actually running per the design guidelines and specifications,” Smith said.
Several amenities in the new business building will include an auditorium, three tiered classrooms and new space where the Career Services office will be relocated.
“One of the highlights is upstairs. We’ll have is what’s called, ‘the capitol markets trading room,’ where they are going to have a stock ticker very visible from down below. Up through the breezeway, you will be able to look up through glass and see the stock ticker in this capitol trading room. There’s some neat stuff going in there,” Smith said.
“It will be like our own mini-Wall Street,” Brenda Flores, department administrator of facilities and planning services, said.
Andy Herrity, dean of the the Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business, explained that while the capitol markets trading room will be specially equipped classroom the placement of the stock ticker is actually still pending.
“It’s a blessing to be here and to do what we do for CBU and for God…it is very much a blessing to see all the fruits after all that goes into this…it’s very awesome. Almost unspeakable. It’s what we’re about,” Smith said.
