A multi-million dollar off-campus apartment and parking deck project has begun to take shape off of Hillsborough Street.
Located behind the Dan Allen parking deck and Sullivan Hall, the privately owned apartment building and adjoining deck will be finished Aug. 2012. All night construction over the summer has left residents of Sullivan Hall sleepless, many of whom are freshmen.
The relentless heat this summer has forced general contractors at Brasfield & Gorrie to schedule work 24 hours a day. Concrete cannot be poured when the weather is too hot, so workers set up forms in the daytime, and then pour concrete at night when it is cooler. Overnight work will end once temperatures fall, according to project manager Dave Finch.
“It’s not ideal to split your crews and work during the day sometimes and work at night sometimes. It’s a lot more cost effective for us to work during the day,” Finch said. “I know that’s a pain in the butt for people that live around here, and we certainly appreciate everyone’s cooperation. Night work should end soon.”
Avery O’Brien, a freshman in management, said she has a friend in Sullivan, also a freshman, who loses sleep nightly due to construction noise.
“Every morning around 3 a.m . my friend and his roommate wake up and can’t go back to sleep. They just sit there and listen,” O’Brien said. “I have been in their dorm before at nighttime, and [the construction site] is literally right outside the window.”
University Towers, although not as close to the site as Sullivan, is within earshot of noise. However, residents said they could not hear anything from inside.
Lauren Lee, a freshman in chemical engineering and University Towers resident, has seen the construction such as the large crane moving, in her four days on campus. She has not been disturbed while in her room, though.
Finch said he has not received any complaints.
277 apartments will house 977 beds. Each apartment will have its own washer and dryer, and a private bathroom. Rising ten stories, tenants will be able to choose from two, three or four bedroom units, according to intern and civil engineering graduate student Elizabeth Western.
Similar to on-campus residence halls, each floor will have a study lounge. Also, a fitness center will be on the first floor.
The University has no ownership stake in the property, but nonetheless a C-store will “eventually be added on a building,” Finch said. Capstone Development of Birmingham, Ala. owns the property.
Capstone set up a leasing office across from the project on Hillsborough Street. Located next door to Pita Pit, it will open Monday at 9 a.m .
Leasing agents were preparing for the opening Wednesday afternoon. They could not release vital information such as unit pricing, but did say renters would pay for single rooms –not entire apartments. This is consistent with other off-campus housing complex arrangements such as those at WolfCreek and Lake Park.
Val Valentine, a local landowner and developer, sold the land to Capstone. Valentine owns the land in front of the site where ValPark currently sits. Although the apartments will be called Valentine Commons, he has nothing to do with the project.
The Commons will be part of a larger development, which Valentine is set to lead. The Brewery and Farm House have been demolished, and the remaining buildings on the blocks spanning from Friendly Street to Concord Street will be torn down and replaced. Several buildings are proposed, including 82,000 feet of retail space containing a Kerr Drug and a restaurant sitting five stories high.
Over the summer, Valentine could be seen managing his portion of the property in his white GMC truck on a daily basis – in the air conditioning.
