2008 Woodie Awards
Contract Negotiations and Design Changes Stall New Gym
Kelly Hill
Issue date: 11/4/05 Section: News
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At the groundbreaking ceremony held on May 6, 2005, Hendrix officials proclaimed that the new Wellness and Athletics Center (WAC), set to be one of the best in the state, would be completed by the end of 2006. With the new soccer field's construction just completed and no other construction underway, it has become clear this deadline is unattainable.
The new Wellness and Athletics Center will replace the Grove Gymnasium, which was built in 1961 when the school's enrollment was only half of what it is today. The new Center will cost approximately $18 million dollars and will be located on the property currently occupied by the soccer field on the northeastern intersection of Harkrider and Siebenmorgen.
"The [architectural] plans for the Wellness and Athletics Center are 90% complete," Athletic Director Danny Powel said.
"We've been finalizing all of the details to get the price down as low as possible," Hendrix College President J. Timothy Cloyd said. "It should be done around the middle of 2007."
Though Executive Director of Special Projects and Planning Jim Foust told the Profile in September that he hoped there would be a contract in the first week of September, one has yet to be finalized.
A contract is still pending with Nabholz Construction of Rogers, Ark., and bids to finalize it will take place in December; construction should begin in January 2006, according to Powell.
Nabholz is the same construction company that built DW Reynolds.
The process of building the WAC should take about 18 months, excluding weather delays, Powell said. During this time, Hendrix will pay Nabholz monthly according to the amount of construction that has been completed.
The construction of the new soccer field located along the northern side of Siebenmorgen is completed and was to have been in use during this fall soccer season. However, the delay in the building of the WAC has forced students to continue using the old soccer field during the 2005 fall season.
Construction is currently taking place on the new track, which will be located between the new WAC and the new soccer field. The digging for this project is visible east of the current soccer field, and if construction goes according to the present schedule, excluding any weather delays, the track should be finished in February 2006, Powell said. The asphalt and artificial turf to be placed on the new track require temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Therefore, in case of a cold winter, final construction of the track may be delayed to later in the spring if night temperatures continue to dip below 40 degrees.
The new WAC will include a competition gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, a recreational gymnasium with two full courts for intramural programs; an aquatic center for competitive and recreational swimming and diving, a fitness center; an exercise studio, a kinesiology lab and classrooms, a rock climbing wall, locker rooms, and staff offices. New fields and courts will also be created for baseball, softball, track and field, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, and field hockey.
"[The WAC] will attract new students and more athletes to Hendrix," sophomore soccer player Elin Dunigan said. "When other schools come to Hendrix to compete they will now be like, 'Whoa, that's a nice place to shower,' instead of 'Wow, Grove is old."
"I just want them to finish it as soon as possible," sophomore swimmer Joe Sullivan said.