Contractors Will Soon Pour the Foundation for Huntsman Hall

 By Ken Snyder

If you’ve been watching the Huntsman Hall webcams, you have noticed on the West Side of the George S. Eccles Business Building there are forms set in the ground that make it look like we are about to create a sunken subdivision.

Forms mark where foundation will be.

Those forms will be filled with concrete and will form the foundation of Huntsman Hall. This event, which we now think will probably happen during the first two-weeks of school, will be noticeable to more than just the webcam faithful. It will take about 20 trucks to haul the heavy substance to our building site and they will likely be here all at the same time, waiting in line, because once you start pouring concrete, it’s the kind of job you must finish. 

The best view of all of this happening will still be from our webcams. In the meantime, in a few days, you’ll be able to watch them positioning the steel rods that are needed to strengthen the foundation.

While we consider the tunnels that connected our utilities to the rest of campus the start of construction, all of the work about to take place in August and September will be the first evidence of the building going up. I’ll keep you updated.

Sub-Contractors Are Locked In On Huntsman Hall

By Ken Snyder

Normally, major building projects such as Huntsman Hall involve a general contractor plus several sub-contractors. Over the past few weeks, we have selected the three major subcontractors that will partner with us on Huntsman Hall. One will deal with the electrical, one will deal with the mechanical, and the other will deal with structural steel.

By locking in these key sub-contractors, we locked in the price we will pay for the work those three contractors do. 

There are two common ways that major public building projects are tackled in Utah. The first is a design-bid-build process in which the architectural firm creates a final design, and then the contractors submit a final bid to those specifications. The second way is a Construction Management General Contractor (CMGC) process in which the architects create a general design, and then the contractor and key sub-contractors suggest ways to save money without sacrificing quality. That’s the approach we have taken.

This strategy has paid off. Not only did these sub-contractors submit bids offering the best pricing, they also came in with many good ideas on how to save additional costs. We are excited to have them on board.

Ceremonial Ground Breaking for Huntsman Hall Set for Aug. 26

By Ken Snyder

The ceremonial ground breaking for Huntsman Hall is now set for 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 26. You are invited to attend. In addition to you, we expect various dignitaries to be at this historic event, including Utah State University President Stan Albrecht.

We call it ceremonial because it probably won’t happen too far away from the large hole we are digging for the foundation of the building. That hole should be about 27-feet deep by that time. And yet all this very visible progress needs to be marked and time needs to be taken to recognize the many people who contributed, sacrificed, and worked make this new construction a reality. Just think, by attending this event you’ll have bragging rights years from now when you walk across campus and Huntsman Hall comes into view. You’ll be able to say, “I remember when there was nothing but a hole in the ground where that beautiful building now stands.”

 

P.S. Don’t forget you can see the excavation progress live by watching it on our Huntsman Hall webcams.

Oops! Ceremonial Groundbreaking to be Rescheduled

By Ken Snyder

Have you ever scheduled a meeting, or planned a party, only to find out that you picked a bad time for your event? Last week we announced that the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Huntsman Hall would be on Aug. 15.

We’ve changed our minds. It turns out that some of the key people who need to be at the ceremony can’t make it that day after all. So we will have to re-schedule the event. No, we don’t have a new date ready to share yet, but we will, and when we do you’ll probably read about it here first. 

For now, all you have to do is take the Aug. 15 groundbreaking off your calendars. We promise to give you a new day to pencil in. And we will make sure you don’t need an eraser next time.

Ceremonial Groundbreaking on Huntsman Hall Set For Aug. 15

By Ken Snyder

The excavation work for Huntsman Hall is going to slow down for a few minutes and become quite symbolic on Aug. 15, even as work accelerates on this historic addition to the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

We are planning a groundbreaking ceremony for Aug. 15 at 3:30 p.m. and you are all invited. The groundbreaking will be followed by a reception.

It is fitting that the event will be held on the same day we kick off the school year on campus with our annual all-day faculty meeting. What a way to start out the year and celebrate this historic event. I hope you will put it on your calendar so you can be a part of something people will likely remember for years to come.