Huntsman Hall construction still proceeding on schedule

To many students passing by the Jon M. Huntsman Project Site on the upper end of Locust Walk, construction progress on the Wharton School's new $140 million building appears slow moving. Something exciting is obviously in the works, but an unfinished skeletal frame has almost become a permanent fixture on the Walk. But according to Project Director Laurie Lundquist, construction work on the Wharton facility "designed to last 100 years" is running on schedule with plans for the building to open its doors August 1, 2002. And students who have watched the process evolve from a distance are now beginning to see concrete changes. "Initially it looked as if no work was being done," Wharton junior Ted Fike said. "But when I came back after summer break I felt the construction had made significant progress." "Upfront it may seem like we are taking a long time," said Lundquist, who is also the director of finance and administration for Wharton. "But this is not a speculative office building that will last 10 to 15 years. Buildings like this don't get built often." And with project costs nearing $140 million, officials overseeing construction of Huntsman Hall -- Penn's first building funded entirely through donations since Houston Hall was built in the late 1800s -- say they are taking the time needed to do things right. "Students expect things to happen overnight," Program Director of Wharton School Projects Doug Carney said. "But [the 32-month plan] is typical construction duration for a building of this size and duration." Nevertheless, Carney -- who works for both the University's Division of Facilities Services and the Trammell Crow Company -- said that there have been some "unexpected twists and turns" during project construction. A tight labor market for skilled workers and a limited availability of steel are two obstacles that the construction industry is currently facing, Carney noted. Yet despite these industry-wide setbacks, Carney said that "by comparison, [the University construction team] has done extremely well [and] has been able to meet the challenges of these problems." The exterior of Huntsman Hall will be built in three separate phases to minimize construction setbacks that often occur with buildings of a complex architectural nature. The section of Huntsman Hall on Locust Walk must abide by University height requirements and match the style of historical buildings, whereas the Walnut Street section of the building will include an eight-story tower designed to blend in with the high rises. "We picked parts of campus that have lots of history and are architecturally pleasing," Lundquist said of selecting the building's design. Lundquist added that students can expect to see bricks on the Walk early in November, and the first phase of construction -- the Locust section exterior -- will be complete by this upcoming spring. Next summer, the 38th Street section will be enclosed and in fall 2001 the exterior of the Walnut Street section will be finished. During the 2001-2002 academic year, work will then turn to completing the interior of the facility. When it is complete, the 320,000-square-foot business education center will become an additional home for Wharton's 4,700 students. The facility will be open 24 hours a day and will feature two separate entrances for undergraduate and MBA students. The business complex will include 48 state-of-the-art classrooms, a 300-seat auditorium, academic and administrative facilities for four of the 11 Wharton departments and an upper-level outdoor plaza. A unique feature will be the inclusion of escalators in the center of the building to keep student traffic flowing smoothly. Brick, sandstone and oak will line both the interior and exterior of the building to ensure that the facility will withstand decades of student use.