Our St. George Office is excited to turn over their third project at Utah Tech University, the Atwood Innovation Plaza parking lot, to the owners. As with the education building, the owners were pleased with the work and timeliness of the project.
The Atwood Innovation Center was originally constructed as an elementary school. After the university purchased and remodeled the building a few years ago, it became apparent that there was a need for more parking stalls. The university hired Zwick Construction to demolish the existing parking lot, along with a remaining playground, shed, and landscaping, then pour a new, larger parking lot.
Although the project seemed straightforward, the project team was faced with a few challenges. The site has a seven-foot elevation difference, which required the team to carefully lay out and landscape the property to ensure the correct slope was created. During construction, the team also found a sinkhole in the property where the basement of a home formerly was.
Next, well into construction, the city required the entrances to be moved from the original plans. While this change negatively affected the schedule, the team made up the lost time and was still able to deliver on time.
Working on an active student campus also brought challenges. Besides installing barricades and closing sidewalks, the team constantly monitored the site to keep students away from construction.
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