Because of the soggy fall and slushy winter weather, construction of Elon University’s new School of Communications building is behind schedule.
Crews working on Dwight C. Schar Hall will now work into weekends to have the project completed by its slated timetable of the beginning of next school year in August.
“Rain during the fall months and now winter weather have put construction of Dwight C. Schar Hall behind schedule,” said Paul Parsons, dean of the School of Communications. “Construction companies build into every project some lost days because of weather, but the Schar project is behind schedule at this point.”
The biggest problem facing crews was the roof not being in place when inclement weather arrived. Because of the open roof, they were unable to work as scheduled, which caused the delays in progress.
Brad Moore, director of planning, design and construction management at Elon, said the roof should be completed by mid-March, which will hasten the progress for time lost.
“Once they get the building dry, then they’ll be in better shape,” Moore said. “But right now they had to work outside without a cover over the building, which is hazardous. If it snowed or rained, they were unable to work, which greatly impacted us and slowed things down.”
Once completed, Schar Hall will be a two-story, 45,00-square-foot facility equipped with a 250-seat theater, 29 faculty offices and a large media innovation forum for all student media organizations. In summer 2016, McEwen Communications building will also be renovated, featuring an outdoor glass plaza connecting Studio B to Schar Hall with a large screen to project student productions and world news daily.