For twenty years a new venue for the Council of Aging has been discussed. In 2016, Mayor Martin and the Town Council approved the funds to build a new home for the Council on Aging. In April 2017, the former Davis Street School was demolished to make the site ready for the new building.
The Designers of the new John Zon Community Center are Dietz and Company Architects from Springfield Massachusetts. The Project Management Company is P-Three Inc., of Norwell. Forish Construction of Westfield is the builder for the Zon Center. Forish is no stranger to the other team members as the Project Manager, the Designer and Forish recently completed the wildly successful Westfield Senior Center.
One thing the Greenfield community can look forward to before Spring arrives, is the opening of the John Zon Community Center! It’s a been a cold winter on site, but that hasn’t stopped the contractors from making great progress. During the last month, many building finishes have been installed such as flooring, cabinetry, bathroom fixtures, administration desk, projector screens, white boards, and commercial grade kitchen appliances. From now to the opening, we’ll be working through balancing the HVAC systems, configuring building lighting and security systems, putting up building signage, as well as installing finishing touches and doing a thorough cleaning.
Looking Ahead
Because winter is still upon us, we will be waiting for the weather to break before the landscaping is complete. We estimate that by April we will be working on final grading, seeding, and the planting of trees and shrubbery throughout the property.
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Q&A: When will the building be open to the public?
Expect to hear local updates very shortly regarding an opening date for the public. The building will need to be inspected by the local authorities and architect prior to occupancy. In addition, the town will be working on moving contents such as furniture into the building and setting up before the doors are opened. We expect the building will be ready for operation in March.
Working on the new driveway:
The Community Center construction has come a long way since just last month. The most significant progress has been the completion of all subsurface drainage systems, electrical service conduits, light pole bases, roof system, fascia board trim work, building wrap, and interior framing. The interior has been completely framed, and has allowed the electricians and plumbers to begin their rough wiring & piping. Electrical outlets and switches have all been located, and all in wall plumbing has been finished for each bathroom.
Monthly Look Ahead
Looking ahead through October, the contractor is planning on installing all of the exterior windows, and siding. Site work will continue with the installation of the granite curbing at the two entrances on Pleasant Street, the concrete sidewalks around the building will be poured, and the interior progress will continue relating to fire protection, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.
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The design team achieved this developing and airtight exterior wall system made up of cellulose dense-pack spray in insulation which is held into place by an air and vapor barrier attached to the inside studs. Every barrier seam is then taped to seal in the cavities. Because all of the exterior walls have secondary walls built on the insides of them, the entirety of the wall system is very thick, which means more insulation, which equates to a higher R value. The building will be able to breath thanks to the HVAC system which will be regularly exhausting inside air out, all while recapturing the heat before its exhausted. More on the HVAC system next month. |
The Community Center construction has seen a tremendous amount of progress this Summer. The building’s exterior frame and sheathing has been completed, and the crews are working to get the roof structure weather tight, as well as all of the interior partition walls framed. Outside the building, the contractor has been installing all of the subsurface drainage structures such as catch basins, manholes, and piping. In order to achieve good drainage and solid subsurface conditions for the parking lot and driveways, the contractor has had to excavate unsuitable soils and have them replaced with engineer approved soils.
Monthly Look Ahead
Looking ahead through August and into September, expect to see the finished roof come together, as well as the fascia board trim at the bottom of the gables, and the exterior building wrap. By the end of August, all of the subsurface drainage components will be installed, and the base for the parking lot and driveway areas will start to be formed. Rough electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trades are expected to start working inside the building in September as well.
Q&A: What makes up the roof system?
New building codes mean that roof systems are more advanced and more efficient. The Community Center building is made up of many layers starting with a base layer of 5/8” sheathing, covered with a building wrap material. Instead of insulating from below the rafters, this roof received three, 3” layers of rigid insulation, topped with what is called a “cool vent” or a ventilated nail base. This allows the roof system to breath. To complete the system, a self-adhered underlayment goes down over the cool vent layer, and is finished with an architectural asphalt shingle.
Questions, Comments or Concerns
Robert Todisco, P-Three Inc.
Since the start of Construction in late May this year, Forish Construction of Westfield, MA has been busy at work. For the past month, the footprint of the building has been excavated, and new foundations and floor slab preparations are nearly complete. The first concrete pour was on June 12, 2017 for the new footings. The footings are reinforced with rebar and will be tied into the foundation walls for structural continuity and strength
Monthly Look Ahead
Looking ahead through June, expect to see new foundation walls, and the removal of the large mounds of soil on the site. After the site is cleared of unusable soils, Forish will begin working on the subsurface drainage systems, and new site utilities.
Q&A: Why do you use Re-Bar?
Concrete is a wonderful material that works under tremendous compression loading, but concrete cannot withstand even a minor amount of tensile loading. Reinforcing Bars bend under compression but work hard under tensile pressure. Combined, steel bar reinforced concrete with-stands all loading.
April 26, 2016
Residents of Greenfield,
For twenty years the discussion on a new venue for the Council of Aging has been discussed. Last year Mayor Martin and the Town Council approved the funds to finalize that discussion into a physical reality.
Last fall, step one of this process occurred with the moving of the School Administration from the Davis Street School to the Greenfield Middle School. With that move, the Davis Street School was ready to be assessed for demolition.
During the past few months the building has been sealed and all of the hazardous material professionally removed. The City was given the all clear in Early April and the physical demolition of the School has begun.
The Designers of the new John Zon Community Center are Dietz and Company Architects from Springfield Massachusetts. The Project Management Company is P-Three Inc., of Norwell. Both firms have been working for a year with the Mayoral formed building committee to focus on a design that will serve the growing elder population for the near future.
With the design and bidding finished, we are happy to announce that the final team member is the contractor. Forish Construction of Westfield will build the Zon Center. Forish is no stranger to the other team members as the Project Manager, the Designer and Forish recently completed the wildly successful Westfield Senior Center.
The Team is complete, the task is at hand and we want you to be informed. A newsletter like this will be published every 2 to 4 weeks depending on activity.
P3 (Project Planning Professionals)
Thank you to everyone who has attended meetings and provided input on the Community Center project. It is wonderful to see the community engaged in the process! Lots of good feedback and comments.
Greenfield Senior Center Building Committee
Greenfield Senior Center Building Committee meetings are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.
Daniel Pallotta, of P3 (Project Planning Professionals), is the OPM. To see some of the Senior Centers he has completed, click here. P3 recently completed a Senior Center for the City of Westfield which opened in autumn 2015.
Dietz & Company Architects, Inc. is the Designer. For more info about the firm, please click here. Dietz & Company worked with P3 on the Westfield Senior Center project.
For Greenfield Senior Center usage statistics, number of seniors in MA by town, Building Committee meeting agendas & minutes -- check the links below.
Posted: Tue, Feb 2, 2016 12:08 PM
Updated Thu, Feb 22, 2018 12:00 AM
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