“It will be dedicated to workforce training,” said Lacey Jarrell, public information officer for KCC.

The H&N toured the 20,184-square-foot building with KCC Facilities Director Mike Homfeldt Friday morning to get a progress report on the $5.6 million center, which is being built by Bogatay with additional subcontractors.

“The interior and exterior walls are set, about 95 percent of them,” Homfeldt said. “The roof structure … is probably 90 percent in place. They’ve built the mechanical mezzanine, and they’ve sheeted probably 60 percent of the roof, which really helps to get us dried in.”

Setting a foundation

With a concrete slab placed at the site in November, the foundation was set for installing pre-made walls despite persistent winter weather.

“Our general contractor and subcontractor doing the framing have just persevered,” Homfeldt said. “It’s been a cooperative effort to clear ice and snow between KCC and them, and they just kept working. Even those bad snow days they were working. They’ve kept us ahead of schedule.

“Probably the second week of February, we should be dried in and covered completely,” Homfeldt said.

“We won’t have to worry about snow and ice on the inside. Once we’ve got a lid on there, it really helps.”

Ahead of schedule

The project is ahead of schedule by a week and scheduled to open to students and faculty in September.

“We don’t want to overpromise,” Homfeldt said.

“The way things are going, and now that it’s almost dried in, we’re going to be able to stay on schedule.”

Founders Hall, named in honor of those who founded the community college, is expected to be a one-stop center for services to students, with a campus book store, business office, financial aid and registration services.

Construction on Founders Hall is scheduled to go to bid for the project later this month.

To read this article and others on the Herald and News website, please refer to the link below:

KCC Construction: Phase II Progress Report (H&N)