Timeline 2019

PROJECT TIMELINE

2019

JANUARY

  • Deficiency repairs are mostly complete as work continues over the Christmas holidays.
  • The demolition of the old buildings has started.
  • By the end of January, Nichol, McCormack and Mackin Halls have been demolished. 

 

FEBRUARY

  • Work begins on the delicate task to remove Lannon Hall while preserving the façade.  A structural steel frame has been erected to hold the façade in place while the building behind it was removed.  
  • By February 21 only the façade and the boilers remain. The boilers, which served the school well until the winter of 2017-18, are considered to be among the oldest working boilers in western Canada.

 

MARCH

  • Excavation work for the footings continues throughout the site. 
  •  On March 13 Father Juan Lucca, VC’s Chaplain, blesses the construction site and lead prayers for the success of the new building and the safety of the workers. Those involved included the Elementary students, whose school dominates this phase, and the Christian Brothers, whose residents will be located in the northwest corner. The site of the blessing ceremony is the location of VC’s new Chapel.

 

APRIL

  • Formwork for the concrete walls progresses steadily throughout April, as has the underground installation of plumbing and electrical services.
  • The restoration of the façade requires some additional engineering because the second-floor window frames deteriorated more than had been originally anticipated.  This work is underway and the team expects an engineering solution to be found.

 

MAY

  • The formwork for the concrete walls continues.  The first half of the slab on grade is poured on May 16 and the second half on May 27, thus providing the building with its first floor.
  • The second-floor windows in the façade require more restoration work than originally anticipated and a plan to accomplish this work is being developed.

 

JUNE

  • Design work on the furniture and décor of components of the new building continues.  
  • In June, the classrooms in Manrell Hall experience serious problems with excessive heat caused by weather conditions and programming problems with the air circulation system. Adjustments to the equipment are made, and the air circulation system has been working fine ever since.

 

JULY

  • The second portion of plumbing and electrical installations on the second floor are completed on July 5 and the remaining second-floor slab is poured July 8.  
  • The vertical elements to support the roof are poured on July 12 and the formwork for the roof slab starts on July 15.
  • Overall the project is tracking about two and a half weeks behind schedule but the concrete forming phase is progressing very well and offers the possibility the project may catch up.

 

AUGUST

  • The roof steel is installed in late July and early August.  
  • The first half of the roof slab is poured on August 9 and the second half on August 19.  
  • The formwork for the elevator shaft, the stairs in the Brothers’ Residence and the McCormack Arch is in progress.  

 

SEPTEMBER

  • Meetings with the architects proceed on furniture for the various elements of the building, including the Chapel, elementary classrooms and library, kindergarten, accounting and administration offices and the Brothers’ Residence.   
  • The steel roof of the gymnasium is installed and the studs for exterior walls and window frames continue to progress.

 

OCTOBER

  • Two important statues are being analyzed to determine what steps are necessary to clean and recondition them for re-installation.  The statue of Christ the King, which stood at the top of the heritage façade of Lannon Hall since 1924 will be placed in its prominent position early in the New Year.  The beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother and Child, carved in pink granite, which adorned the garden at the west end of the courtyard in front of the former Brothers’ Residence since 1981, will be cleaned and placed in the new Chapel Garden at the west end of the new building, near the door to the Chapel.  
  • Construction continues at a brisk pace. The steel stud work is underway and sprinkler lines, mechanical ducting, plumbing, and electrical conduit installations also continue on the second floor.  The heritage windows for the façade have been restored. The façade remediation team will be completing the precast concrete window surrounds in November and the heritage window installation will follow immediately afterward.