Construction

The building construction will begin in September of 2018 and it will continue until August of 2020. First the existing building on-site must be demolished. The foundation will be placed soon after excavation is complete. The State College borough will not allow laydown area and only the parking lot located next to the site can be used for equipment and materials. A tower crane will be erected inside the building footprint and it will be able to reach all areas of the building. The project’s delivery method is Design-Bid-Build. The builder is the general contractor Leonard S. Fiore. The masonry units around the building will be constructed with Built-Up scaffolding.

 

Electrical /Lighting

          The building has one main electrical room located on the second floor. This will house the switchgear. Next to this room is the emergency generator. This 150kW generator will serve as a backup power source for the building’s emergency systems should there be a main power failure. Every floor will have an electrical closet and each apartment will have a breaker box. LED luminaires are used throughout the building. Motion detectors are used throughout the building to save energy when certain areas aren’t being used. They are used on the exterior for design purposes as well as functional purposes.

 

Mechanical

          The mechanical system is the building is quite simple. Each apartment feature individual PTAC units, one per bedroom. There are exhaust fans in the electrical room, gym, laundry room, commercial spaces, and apartment bathrooms. Three are 3 units on the rooftop responsible for exhaust and air intake. The garage is open air and does not need any exhaust. Because there is very little equipment on each floor, the ductwork is minimal and does not impede or cause any issues with other building systems. Most of the ductwork is present in the hallway ceiling and between apartment bathrooms/kitchens.

 

Structural

          The structure of Building A is comprised of concrete CMU blocks, reinforced slabs, and hollow core slabs. The building foundation will be spread footings on grade underneath the columns. The lower two floors (parking and commercial) feature 24”x24” columns with a 12” reinforced concrete slab. Above this area is a 28” transfer slab. The transfer slab will carry the remaining 5 floors of the building. These residential floors will feature an 8” thick hollow-core floor plank. The vertical load will be transferred down using CMU bearing walls. The exterior wall will rest on the surface of each floor slab with the exception of the face brick. This system will self-support and be separate from the building with a small air space.