Construction sites continue to spring up

While many professors and students vacated campus during the summer recess, teams of construction workers moved in and kept busy with a number of projects.

This summer, work began on the new Pottruck Health and Fitness Center and the 38th Street Bridge, while construction continued on Huntsman Hall and the Graduate School of Education renovation was completed.

Many of the current projects -- including Huntsman and Pottruck -- are designed to bring a greater sense of campus community to areas beyond Locust Walk.

"We are very excited about what is happening on Walnut Street," Vice President of Facilities Services Omar Blaik said. "Soon people will travel down Walnut Street and know they are in the middle of a campus."

Moving west on campus, the 38th Street Bridge is currently undergoing a facelift. The thoroughfare will be converted into a generational walkway honoring families with multiple Penn graduates. Additionally, the bridge's entrances will be renovated to celebrate the 125 years of women at the University.

Currently, a majority of the bridge is barricaded, making it inconvenient for foot traffic. By the end of September, however, the bridge should be cleared of all impediments.

In the meantime, bikes are not permitted on the bridge and representatives from the Division of Public Safety will be manning both sides of the bridge to control traffic.

Gimbel Gymnasium was closed over the summer to aid in the construction of the new Pottruck facility, but its doors will open once again when classes begin on Sept. 6.

The Walnut Street entrance will now be used as an emergency exit only, forcing customers to enter the facility from Sansom Street.

The facility's pool, which was closed to allow $750,000 of mechanical work to take place, will reopen as well. Temporary lockers have been moved to overlook the pool in part to compensate for lower level locker room space that was lost due to construction of the new building.

In addition, one basketball court was lost in order to relocate cardiovascular equipment. Two courts remain, along with the addition of skylights above the hoops.

While the facility is operational, representatives from the Department of Recreation acknowledge that there will be some student frustration with the facility and stressed that this is a temporary setup.

There are "going to be some inconveniences to get the bigger prize, the bigger picture," Director of Recreation Michael Diorka said.

Next door to Gimbel, workers have prepared a hole for the future Pottruck site. Work will begin on the new facility's foundations in a couple of months and steel is expected to be erected around November.

Further south, the brick work on the lower portion of the $148 million Huntsman building on the Locust Walk side is almost complete. This fall, brick work should begin on the Walnut Street side of the facility. Preliminary plumbing and electrical work for the building was completed over the summer.

Finally, the newly renovated Graduate School of Education building is now complete. The $8.5 million project began last fall and was completed within the planned time frame and budget. The renovation moved the building's entrance from Locust Walk to Walnut Street.

Last week, the school moved back into the building from its temporary location on Market Street.

"It's a better place for our students to live and a better place for our academics to reside," said Tom Kecskemethy, the school's assistant dean.

The new facility includes state-of-the-art technology, including document cameras in all classrooms and a video conference center, and allows the school's four academic divisions to be housed in the same facility.

Other projects this summer included Levine Hall in the Engineering complex, the Spruce Street sidewalks, the Schattner Dental School building and a parking garage in conjunction with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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