Community Enthusiasm Builds for Warren Project
WARREN, Ohio – Passers-by can envision the final appearance of the $36 million Student Wellness and Recreation Center that DeSalvo Construction is building at Warren G. Harding High School, now that the shell of the center is taking shape.
“It’s going smoothly. Everything is pretty much coming in on time. There were some long lead times on a lot of this stuff,” says Rob Wilt, project superintendent for DeSalvo Construction.
TEMA Roofing of Girard has installed 85% of the roofing. “We were running a little heavy a while ago trying to help DeSalvo hit their completion date for the locker rooms,” says Dave Pugh, roofing superintendent.
The locker rooms, which DeSalvo targeted for completion by mid-August to ensure they were ready for the football season, were finished on time.
Now, Pugh and his crew are focusing on installing the PVC membrane roof. Once that’s finished, they will turn to wrapping the façade of the building to ensure it’s enclosed by mid-December.
“The hardest part is the logistics of it. Getting material in and out because it is a smaller job site,” Pugh says. “DeSalvo has been great working with all the other trades here to make sure there’s room to get your stuff in.”
In all, TEMA will install about 90,000 square feet of roofing panels.
The side panels – the installation of which Mike Quinlan oversees – are made from a three-inch-thick material with facing on both the interior and exterior. Quinlan is project manager for TEMA Roofing.
Once installed, the panels will provide all the insulation for the center, eliminating the need for foam or traditional insulation.
“This will be our largest project using them because the entire façade of the building is going to be insulated wall panels,” Quinlan says. “It’s a unique project.”
Meanwhile, Becdel Controls in Niles is working to install all the electrical components that will be housed within the walls that TEMA is installing.
Superintendent Hays Montgomery says Becdel has had crews on the site since the beginning of the project, installing the underground electrical components.
“We’re roughing in for the electric and all the systems for the project on the first and second floor,” he says.
Becdel Controls has committed a team of six to the project, assigned the task of installing all electrical systems. These systems comprise security, IT and fire alarms.
At the same time, other crews are working at the site, overseeing the installation of plumbing, sprinkler systems and walls.
“It’s a large project with the two floors and the big open area,” Montgomery says. “There will be 80- to 100-foot lifts in here moving around. Safety is paramount. We get our guys from the IBEW Local 573. So they’re trained on safety when they come out.”
Fifty to 60 workers are on site each day, DeSalvo’s Wilt says, although that number swells to some 75 when they are pouring a large amount of concrete.
“We’re getting ready for the last pour on the first floor, our siding is ready to be delivered and we’re getting ready with ceramic tile on the outside for when the siding comes,” he says.
School officials recently decided to install artificial turf on the ground floor of the track, he says, meaning less concrete will be required and more slag will be needed.
“It will be 50 yards of a football field. It could also be used for soccer. Baseball and softball could use it during winter time,” Wilt says.
The golf simulators, situated inside the existing footprint of the school, were recently completed and will soon be in use.
Wilt says the project still garners much attention from the community, with one local man donating a large U.S. flag now flying from the framework facing Mollenkopf Stadium. “I think the school appreciated the big flag that he donated,” he says.
Pictured at top: DeSalvo Construction superintendent Rob Wilt in front of the first- and second-floor tracks.
Editor’s Note: Constructing a Legacy is sponsored by DeSalvo Construction Co.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
