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GVSU Niemeyer Living Center & Honors College

Photo for GVSU Niemeyer Living Center & Honors College Photo for GVSU Niemeyer Living Center & Honors College

Summary

Size:
227,594 SF; 447 Beds in 168 Units
Type:
Education
Definition:
New
Budget:
$28,500,000
Date Completed:
08/01/2008

Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Dr. Allendale MI 49401

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Description

Any number of variables can threaten to skew the timetable on a particular project. On one occasion, it could be students returning for fall classes, unwittingly setting an inflexible deadline. On another, it could be a fire in the factory of one of your suppliers, suspending the delivery of vital materials. Sometimes it can be both. That was the case for Allied Electric during construction of the Niemeyer Living Center & Honors College at GVSU. Project manager Shannon Sullivan recalls the aggressive schedule imposed by the upcoming fall semester. “We had about a year to go from a parking lot to 168 living units,” he notes. Adding to the time crunch was the unforeseen. “One of the problems we encountered was the company fabricating panels for the apartment building burned down.” The factory fire cost about a month in the schedule, forcing builders to scramble for replacement panels. “That compressed everything for everybody,” says Sullivan.

Despite these challenges, GVSU students arrived in August to find a new three-story campus living center (459 bedrooms, study spaces, conference and laundry rooms), its east and west wings joined in the middle by the Frederik Meijer Honors College (faculty offices, classrooms, lecture halls, and rain gardens). Sullivan sums up the experience: “Regardless of the schedule, we were able to keep up with the pace of the project, thanks to the speed of our crew and workers. Whatever is presented to us, we answer the call.”