Building to be enclosed before end of August

July 19, 2010

OLATHE, Kan. - Long before you make the right turn at the intersection of Valley Road and College Boulevard, you will see it. The two-story building with the glittering glass front that overlooks the stone-rimmed lake is the house that will become home to the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus.

Much has happened since ground was broken on the International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute back in November 2009. Scheduled for completion in first quarter 2011, the building is well on its way.

According to Nate Purdy, a project manager with The Weitz Company, the first milestone for the building is getting the roof over the first story. This allows the company to put in the sheetrock walls in and know they won't get wet if it rains; this is important because the material in those walls molds fairly quickly.

As far as a general construction update, several big pieces of the projects are complete. All the precast is done, and nearly all the structure is up. Purdy said many of the walls in the first story have been framed, and much of the overhead work – mechanical ducts, sprinkler lines, etc. – is finished as well.

The dirt is all cut to grade in the parking lot, so adding curbs and pouring the asphalt over crushed rock will be coming next. Once the roof and glass are finished on the second story, the building will be enclosed, which Purdy said is a huge milestone in a construction project. He said that will happen in the next three to four weeks, and it may happen more quickly than that.

- By Ashley Dunkak -