Welcome!
The purpose of this blog is to keep employees informed about the progress of the new KUB Engineering Building, whichwill be constructed on the north side of the E&O Building on the Hoskins Center Campus.

Please contact David Keck (X2220) or Randy O'Neal (X7236) with questions.

                            

January 19, 2018 UPDATE

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (Schedule Update) – In preparation for demolition of the E&O Building Covered North Parking Lot, Properties will relocate the four Electric Vehicle Charging Stations to the north end of the East Parking Lot (near the Ed Shouse Gate). This work has been rescheduled for the week of January 22.

South Parking Lot Extension – Contractor Southern Constructors, Inc. (SCI), began excavating for the project to add 84 parking spaces and a landscaped area for stormwater management adjacent to the South Parking Lot. Construction of the new parking lot is expected to last from early January through late winter. As a reminder, SCI has blocked off the last row of parking spaces and the southwest corner of the lot. The walking trail between the South Parking Lot and the Mechanical Building will be closed during construction (see map on KUB monitors).

Communications Line Installation – Contractor Service One and its boring subcontractor continue work on installation of the new communications line serving the E&O Building. Crews and related construction equipment will maintain a presence in the West Parking Lot and the access road near the main entrance through early February. E&O Building employees may notice elevated noise levels as the contractor drills for conduit installation in the basement area.

January 12, 2018 UPDATE

Engineering Building – Blaine Construction has been awarded the bid to construct the new Engineering Building on the Hoskins Center Campus.

Founded in 1969 and based in Knoxville, Blaine Construction, has successfully completed numerous large scale local projects, ranging from the Regal Riviera Theater and new headquarters downtown, to the University of Tennessee's Anderson Training Center, Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, and Thompson-Boling Arena Improvements. Other regional projects constructed by Blaine include the Rocky Top Sports World complex in Gatlinburg, several structures on the Oak Ridge National Lab campus, and the new Morristown City Hall.

A Service One employee installs conduit and power supply for a new camera located at edge of the West Parking Lot to capture time-lapse images during the Engineering Building Project.
For more information about the contractor and their project profiles, here's a link to the Blaine Construction website: http://www.blaineconstruction.com/
Stay tuned, announcements on the construction start date and other events related to the Engineering Building will be made in the coming days.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – In preparation for demolition of the E&O Building Covered North Parking Lot, Properties will relocate the four Electric Vehicle Charging Stations to the north end of the East Parking Lot (near the Ed Shouse Gate) the week of January 15.
Communications Line Installation – Service One and its boring subcontractor continue work on installation of the new communications line serving the E&O Building. Crews and related construction equipment will maintain a presence in the West Parking Lot and the access road near the main entrance through late January. Also, as part of this project, service one is running conduit and power on the newly-installed utility pole at the far side of the West Parking Lot (see attached photos). Properties will be installing a new camera on this pole to capture time-lapse images showing construction of the new Engineering Building. 
South Parking Lot Extension – As indicated in an Open Lines e-mail that went out earlier this week, Southern Constructors, Inc. (SCI), has installed silt fencing around the work zone limits for the project to add 84 parking spaces and a landscaped area for stormwater management adjacent to the South Parking Lot. Construction of the new parking lot is expected to last from early January through late winter. As a reminder, SCI will use the last row of parking spaces in the lot for their employee parking, and the southwest corner of the lot will be used by the contractor as a materials and equipment laydown/staging area. The walking trail between the South Parking Lot and the Mechanical Building will be closed during construction (see map on KUB monitors).

Area 1 - E&O South Parking Lot Extension

Beginning this week and lasting through April 2018, the E&O Building South Parking Lot (Area 1) is being extended to add 84 spaces to offset parking that will be lost once construction begins on the new Engineering Building. Effective immediately, the areas shown in orange on the attached map will be reserved for contractor parking, laydown, and storage, A landscaped area between the new and existing parking lots will also be added for stormwater management. The new parking area is expected to be open and ready for use by early spring (weather permitting).  

The walking trail between the South Parking Lot and the Mechanical Building will be closed during this period. Updates will be issued for additional closures, traffic flow, and parking changes related to ongoing work on the Hoskins campus.

Barriers, including silt fencing, barrels, cones, and other devices, will be in place around the work site. Employees are also reminded to watch for the presence of construction equipment and traffic outside of the designated work zone.

Area 1 - E&O Building Communications Line Installation

Beginning on Thursday, December 21, 2017, and lasting through January 4, 2018 (weather permitting) contractor crews will be installing conduit and a new fiber optic communications line in the area to the north and west of the E&O Building. This work will require the closure of parking spaces and roadways as needed in the work zone designated in yellow on the attached map. At least one ingress/egress route to the North Covered Parking Lot will be maintained at all times.

Barriers, cones, and other devices will be in place around the work site. Employees are reminded to watch for the presence of construction equipment and traffic in and around the designated work zone.

In the event of a building emergency requiring evacuation, E&O Building occupants should report to primary assembly point shown on the map.

Please continue to follow the progress of the Engineering Building project on our KUB Compass blog site.

Area 1 - E&O Communications Line Installation Site Prep Work

Contractor crews will be performing potholing work to locate existing undergound utilities in the roadway area in front of the E&O Building on Monday, November 27, and Tuesday, November 28, in advance of a project to install conduit and a new fiber optic communications line. This section of roadway will be closed while this work is completed. Access to the West Parking Lot and North Covered Parking Lot will be maintained via the alternate route shown on the map below. 

Barriers, cones, and other devices will be in place around the work site. Employees are reminded to watch for the presence of construction equipment and traffic in and around the designated work zone. 

Facility Emergency Management Program: E&O Building Emergency Evacuation Plan Update

With construction set to begin on the E&O Building South Parking Lot in the next several weeks, the Primary E&O Building Emergency Evacuation Assembly Point will temporarily shift to the grassy area behind the West Parking Lot (see area shown in blue on the attached map). The Secondary Assembly Point will shift to the Grassy area North of the West Parking Lot.

The assembly location points changes will remain in effect from mid-November through December 29, 2017  to coincide with construction (weather permitting). Please make sure that all E&O Building personnel and visitors are aware of this temporary change of assembly point. The E&O Building posted evacuation maps and Emergency Action Plan will also be update to reflect the assembly point changes.

Properties Update - Hoskins Campus

Area 1 - E&O South Parking Lot Extension - The E&O Building South Parking Lot is being extended to offset parking that will be lost once construction begins on the new Engineering Building. KUB Properties will close the last row of parking spaces in the lot on Thursday, November 2, and Friday, November 3, as site preparation work begins to add 84 parking spaces in Area 1 (marked in yellow) on the attached map. Contractors will be working in this area over the next few months to stake and lay out the affected areas before beginning construction. A landscaped area between the new and existing parking lots will also be added for stormwater management. The new parking area is expected to be open and ready for use by Friday, December 29 (weather permitting).  

Properties, in partnership with KUB Vegetation Management and a landscape architect, is developing a master landscape plan for the entire Hoskins campus. The first phase of this plan will include replanting the trees removed with similar species at other areas of the campus. The walking trail between the South Parking Lot and the Mechanical Building will be closed during this period. Updates will be issued for additional closures, traffic flow, and parking changes related to ongoing work on the Hoskins campus.

Barriers, including silt fencing, barrels, cones, and other devices, will be in place around the work site. Employees are also reminded to watch for the presence of construction equipment and traffic outside of the designated work zone.

E-mail from Mintha Roach to All KUB Users [March 21,2017]

I am pleased to tell you about some important properties projects getting

underway this year. 

Hoskins Center 

Construction will begin soon on improvements to the Hoskins Center HVAC

system. This work will impact all parts of the campus over the next few years,

and Properties staff have been working with our consultants to ensure that

we keep disruptions to a minimum. One challenge is that most work groups

will have to relocate for at least some period of time while the work proceeds

in their areas. The Call Center, as an example, has already relocated to the

Miller’s building as we ramp up this project.

A benefit of all these moves is that it gives us the chance to freshen up

the interiors of our major buildings. Although some areas have had some

minor improvements, most of the HOC buildings haven’t had new carpet,

paint or furniture since the early 1990s. With these facilities empty for the

HVAC work, we’ll be able to renovate them so that work groups return to

updated workspaces. We spend more than a quarter of our life at work, so

it’s important to have a space that’s comfortable and helps us do our jobs

effectively.

In addition, we have decided to move forward with the construction of a

new building on the campus. For many years, the E&O Building has been at

capacity, but we have deferred building new facilities while we focused on

our Century II projects. Now, given the rest of the work that we will already

be doing on campus, we think the time has come to move ahead with the

construction of a new Engineering Building.

This building, shown in the preliminary rendering below, would be built

adjacent to the current E&O Building, and will house all our Engineering staff

in one place. The E&O will become the Operations building, housing the

non-engineering functions currently in the building, as well as the Call Center,

which will return to campus when the renovations are complete.

In addition to providing needed workspaces, this project will also allow us

to minimize the impact of the temporary moves for the HVAC project – when

the new building is complete, engineering employees will move in without the

need for temporary quarters elsewhere. At the end of the project we will have

modernized our facilities for all our employees at HOC.

At this point we are still in the design process, and we will involve the groups

impacted by all of this work as we fi nalize our plans. But we wanted to be

sure you were all aware of this new initiative as it gets underway. If all goes as

planned, we will begin construction in 2018.