{"id":163454,"date":"2024-06-04T10:18:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=163454"},"modified":"2025-08-29T11:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T15:52:14","slug":"campus-construction-update-june-7-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2024\/06\/04\/campus-construction-update-june-7-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Construction Update: June 7, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Others may be eagerly anticipating beach trips, camping, cookouts, etc., but for Campus Construction Update summer means one thing and one thing only: facility projects at Bates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, this year\u2019s summer initiatives comprise a nice variety. Academic projects include new kilns for the Olin Arts Center and the creation of specialized labs for new faculty (including facilities for sleep research and for analyzing interactions between sunlight and atmospheric pollutants).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it has been all year, though, the biggest construction news might be the conversion of the former Sisters of Charity convent at 96 Campus Avenue into the college\u2019s newest student residence. Scheduled to open in time for the forthcoming academic year, that project will stay on our radar all summer long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This 2022 drone image of the Russell Street Track shows both the then-new Mondo track surface in all its ruddy glory and the grass soccer field encircled by the track. That field will be resurfaced with artificial turf this summer, expanding its use as a multipurpose field. (Courtesy of Dave Cleaveland\/Maine Imaging)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this edition of CCU we\u2019ll also describe a quick project at Lindholm House, a campus landmark and home of the Admission office. And we\u2019ll tell you about yet another upgrade at the Russell Street Field, a facility that has gotten quite a lot of love<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get out<\/strong>: Last month we explained how the work at 96 Campus Avenue has expanded to the building\u2019s exterior and surroundings. That trend has intensified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 10, the riggers of Cote Corp. brought a crane over from Auburn to hoist two new air handlers, specifically known as energy-recovery ventilators, to the roof. (They also wrangled into the basement two gas-fired boilers that will provide hot water for things like showers, ramen noodles and Swiss Miss hot chocolate, and laundry.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Seen

Seen from the bleachers at John Bertram Hall, a new HVAC machine on the roof of 96 Campus Avenue is visible to the right of center. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Pavers\u2019

Pavers\u2019 tools at the ready at 96 Campus Avenue on May 28. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Inside

Inside the 96 Campus Avenue construction site fence, a truck dumps asphalt as a paving crew tops the parking lot. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Shown

Shown is part of a future route for a walkway connecting the new 96 Campus Avenue dorm (out of view up the road) to the center of campus. Where the vehicles are now parked, a sidewalk will run from the dorm to a point facing the orange cones. The cones show where a painted lane will lead to an existing path past Merrill Gym intersects with a main east-west footpath. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"The

The path at center will be connected to a new walkway leading to 96 Campus Avenue, which is behind the camera. The Bobcat sculpture appears in the background. (The statue was moved to Garcelon Field in 2025.) (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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A couple weeks later, we visited just in time to witness the start of paving as the site-work experts of Lewiston firm St. Laurent & Son laid a binder coat of asphalt on the reconfigured parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking about chains of causality can bend your mind, as we have reason to know. That paving job is a good example. From now until the second and final coat of asphalt is laid, late in the project, tradespeople on the job at 96 Campus Avenue can park in the newly paved lot instead of along the Bates service road adjacent to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That will clear the way for the construction of a new sidewalk along the service road that will link No. 96 to campus, via the walkway that passes Merrill Gym. A gravel roadbed for the sidewalk\u2019s asphalt has already been prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early May, prior to paving, new underground connections for local utilities were run through the parking lot. The business of tying those utilities \u2014 fresh water, gas for the water heaters, stormwater and sanitary discharge \u2014 into building systems has been going on ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The basement wall where utilities enter 96 Campus Avenue. Shown from left are new gas-fired water heaters, electrical panels, sanitary discharge, water intake for the fire suppression system, and the domestic water supply. In the foreground is a newly placed concrete pad where the water heaters will live. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bates Project Manager Brian Lanoie took us to the basement to see the massive pipe-and-valve assemblages where the incoming and outbound water connections have been made but not yet opened. The new gas line was missing, waiting for Unitil to install its meter outside the foundation. Lanoie added, \u201cThere are still some wires that need to be pulled for power, but the (electrical) infrastructure is all in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spotted the new water heaters and, nearby, a concrete pad just poured for their permanent location. Lanoie also pointed out that the mechanical area in the basement had been reconfigured since our last visit. A wall was removed and will be rebuilt so as to enlarge the mechanical space and shrink an adjacent storage room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the building\u2019s electrical lockers lining an entire end wall, the change in floor plan was necessitated by the building code, which specifies a distance between a water intake and the electrical service greater than what was called for when 96 Campus Avenue was built, nearly a half-century ago.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"This<\/a>
This old air duct in the basement of 96 Campus Avenue displays intriguing curves that originally made way for other ceiling pipes and conduits. Now disused, the duct and others like it will be removed. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ultimately, though the mechanical area is the focus of basement work, the whole level will be cleaned and repainted, and some damaged wallboard replaced, before the renovation is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress on the first floor since our last visit was conspicuous. Notably, expanses of wallboard have been hung, largely at the north end of the building (farthest from Campus Avenue), where the residence director\u2019s apartment and the building-wide student lounge will be located. It\u2019s amazing the difference that walls make to how we perceive a given amount of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where MEP on the first floor is more about bringing utility feeds to new destinations and then roughing them into walls, upstairs the focus is more on terminal installations \u2014 lights and light switches, sinks and toilets, etc. Plenty of those fittings are in place on the third and uppermost level, and they\u2019re appearing one floor down, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tile installation in a 96 Campus Avenue restroom. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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A future student room on the second floor, this space is serving as a work area for Windham Millwork. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Doorframes,

Doorframes, like these shown at the entrances to second-floor student rooms, are being fitted throughout 96 Campus Avenue. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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An electrician has stepped away partway through installing an outlet in a dorm room at 96 Campus Avenue. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"The

The trim strip separates two styles of new flooring in 96 Campus Avenue: tiling for a bathroom, at right, and a wood-grain product for general use (both installed and awaiting installation) at left. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Installation

Installation of fixtures in third-floor restrooms is underway. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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A newly installed shelf in a student room on the third floor of 96 Campus Avenue. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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\"Wallboard

Wallboard is in place in the student laundry room at 96 Campus Avenue, located on the second floor. The cutouts at lower left are for plumbing and electrical fittings. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>

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Most third-floor walls have been painted with primer, many doorframes are hung, and millwork, such as wooden shelves, is being added to student rooms. New flooring is going down \u2014 a simulated wood-grain product in bedrooms and hallways, tiles in the restrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As noted, these same processes are happening on the second floor, too, just a little bit behind the third. The big news on the second floor is the dramatic change to what was originally built as the convent\u2019s chapel \u2014 now divided into student rooms with remarkably high ceilings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the transformation of 96 Campus Avenue is \u201cstill tracking on schedule and on budget,\u201d Lanoie said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been blessed in a few different ways with the project, and some of the changes that have occurred all went the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trenching afoot<\/strong>: The home of the Admission staff, Lindholm House underwent improvements to its foundation in May. Prompted by persistent water leakage into the basement, the project entailed excavation around the building, creation of new drainage infrastructure, and exterior application of a waterproofing membrane. Amos Development of Greene was the contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Workers
Employees of Amos Development of Greene apply a waterproof membrane to the foundation of Lindholm House on May 9. (Robert Leavitt\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the process, Lindholm got a new set of front steps through the efforts of Randall Swan, a local builder who has done work for Bates since the early 2000s. He fashioned the steps from Trex and AZEK, wood substitutes made from recycled materials. The front walk was replaced this week and new plantings, selected with guidance from Admission staff, will appear before too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grassroots campaign<\/strong>: It\u2019s turf\u2019s up! for Russell Street Field, the venue for Bobcat track and field and one of two home pitches used by the varsity soccer teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a makeover expected to begin any day now, the facility will receive a new scoreboard, energy-saving field lights, and an artificial playing surface to replace the living grass inside the track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Russell Street track in use on May 28. Dating from 2019, all the living grass within the track will be replaced with artificial turf during summer 2024. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When complete, the field will join Garcelon Field as a multipurpose turf field available to students for more hours each day, more days each year, and for more sporting and recreational activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Field turf manufacturer FieldTurf (talk about no-nonsense marketing!), whose products have been used at Bates previously, is supplying the new surface. Called CORE, the product is described by the manufacturer as the first-ever multi-layer dual-polymer fiber. (Apparently they\u2019ve overlooked some leisure suits we got at Jordan Marsh in the 1970s.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turf will replace all the grass inside the track, about two acres\u2019 worth. Typical of such surfaces, it\u2019s composed of simulated grass blades infilled with layers of sand and two grades of rubber crumbs. This infill provides cushioning and stability. The crumbs are made by shattering deep-frozen vehicle tires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Russell
Russell Street Field on a misty May morning. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The grass is only 5 years old, but between heavy use and the summertime thrill ride of alternating droughts and deluges, upkeep has been challenging. Moreover, the new surface will make the field not only more durable, but more versatile. For example, its markings can be switched out to accommodate other sports, such as rugby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major Maine contractor is handling the project: Shaw Brothers Construction of Gorham. \u201cThey\u2019ve done quite a few fields,\u201d says Paul Farnsworth, Bates project manager for Russell Street Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll dig out the existing grass and underlayers, and then build it up with select gradations of fill.\u201d The overall carpet of FieldTurf will be attached to pressure-treated wood laid underneath, as well as to a concrete band that will be carved from a retaining wall around the inner circumference of the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The track surface, by the way, was replaced in 2022. \u201cWe\u2019re taking extraordinary measures to protect the track\u201d from damage caused by heavy-equipment crossings, says Farnsworth, describing a sort of Dagwood sandwich of steel plates, landscape fabric, sand, and articulated wooden mats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This all promises to reward the observation of Shaw Bros.\u2019 progress at the field. But Farnsworth says that passers-by will also notice the big holes being dug around the site as footings are placed for the new field lights. These tall appliances will be manufactured by Musco Sports Lighting, which in 2010 also supplied the lights for the Garcelon Field makeover. But the Russell Street units will be electron-sipping LED lights. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Musco
Shown are two of the four sets of Musco field lights newly erected at Garcelon Field on Aug. 30, 2010. (Doug Hubley\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The new scoreboard, meanwhile, will be capable of displaying not only scores but pre-programmed images and text, such as player portraits and their stats. Finally, Farnsworth notes, the javelin-throwing runway will be moved to a location behind the softball field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we talk<\/strong>? Campus Construction Update welcomes your questions, comments, and reminiscences about construction at Bates. Putting \u201cCampus Construction\u201d or \u201cDo you wear the chains of causality you forged in life?” in the subject line, please contact Doug Hubley at dhubley@bates.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doug Hubley is a writer and musician living in Portland, Maine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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