- January 23rd, 2006, 9:41 am
#1213
It looks like we are having more construction issues. Why is it so tough to complete a construction project in Lynchburg?
Construction under watchful eyeshttp://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... 8719&path=
Ron Brown
rbrown@newsadvance.com
January 23, 2006
With 160 days and counting until the scheduled opening of the new Thomas Road Baptist Church, the Rev. Jerry Falwell is taking no chances with a work delay.
Falwell has taken the fairly unusual step of having one contractor assess the work progress of another.
Coleman-Glass Construction, a Lynchburg firm, has been given the responsibility of making sure the $18 million project gets finished on time.
“We’re pulling out all the stops to make it happen,” Falwell said.
The church has invested a lot of time and money in promoting the opening of the new church on July 2, its 50th anniversary.
“It’s most important,” Falwell said.
While Kodiak Constructors, the project’s general contractor, has completed other Falwell-related jobs successfully, its been hurt by the loss of some key employees.
“The foreman we have been working with has left the company,” said Jerry Falwell Jr., Falwell’s son and Liberty University’s vice chancellor.
Coleman-Glass brings with it a good track record of getting projects done for the Falwells on budget and on time.
The most recent example is the construction of the new LaHaye Ice Center, which was formally dedicated last weekend.
Prior to that was the successful construction of the LaHaye Student Center and the new Early Learning Center in what was once the Ericsson Plant.
“Coleman-Glass has done an excellent job on those projects,” Falwell Jr. said. “They’ll make an excellent representative for us on the church project.”
Joe Coleman, one of the partners in Coleman-Glass, said his company can help foster better communications between Kodiak and the Falwells.
“We’re here to reinforce the expectations,” he said. “We will search out potential problem areas.”
Initially, Coleman-Glass determined that the church project was about 8 weeks behind schedule.
The company made suggestions, such as getting more roofers involved and working double shifts to make up for lost time.
With those adjustments, the project is getting back on schedule.
“We’ve had good conversations with Kodiak,” said Darryl Glass, the other partner in the Coleman-Glass. “It is a large project. There are a lot of details.”
Falwell Jr. said Coleman-Glass’ attention to those details is the reason they’ve been hired.
“They have a lot of expertise in construction,” Falwell Jr. said. “It is critical that the new church meets its deadline.
While the Falwells have historically depended on university staff to oversee construction projects, the number of projects simultaneously going on has stretched that staff thin.
“Our internal crews have more than they can handle,” said Charles Spence, LU’s associate to the chancellor for major projects.
Just this year alone, the campus’ construction projects include the church, a football operations center, five new dorms, intramural sports fields and Liberty Christian Academy’s athletic fields.
Those projects are in addition to the construction of several new academic departments within the Ericsson building and final details needed to finish the ice center and the new Lynchburg Christian Academy.
An indoor track at the Ericsson building is also a work in progress.
Falwell Jr. said the university is growing so fast that construction projects will always be on a tight deadline.
“Dormitories are almost always going to be a rush job,” he said. “We usually don’t know until November or December how many beds we’ll need for the next year.”
LU will likely have 9,700 residential students next year.
Falwell Jr. said the working relationship with Coleman-Glass signifies a new era.
He said he hopes to have more local firms involved as general contractors in the LU’s future construction projects.
Up next for the university will be an 18,000-seat convocation center and perhaps an alumni club atop the 85-foot tower at the Ericsson building.
“There are opportunities,” Glass said.