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Article published Jun 29, 2009 Push on to complete Clayton Center for the Arts
By Matthew Stewart of The Daily Times Staff
With about six months left to go until the Clayton Center for the Arts’ completion date, workers and officials are kicking everything into high gear.
Between 150 and 175 workers are on-site every day, said Andy Derenski, Messer Construction’s project executive. Crews from 10 companies are working every day, and a handful of other crews are on-site based upon the day’s scope of work, Derenski said.
“There’s a typical way of constructing a lot of buildings. When you look at this building and all the details, however, it’s not really intuitive,” Derenski said. The Clayton Center for the Arts’ construction has required a lot of interim steps and coordination between subcontractors, he said. “There’s a lot of coordination on any job, but this is way above average.”Workers have started plaster work in the performance hall, and they are expected next week to pour concrete in the room, said Barry Brooke, executive vice president of commercial development for property development and management firm Lawler-Wood. The firm is acting as the owner’s representative on the project.
After pouring the floor, workers will move a crane into the performance hall and spend two to three weeks hanging the catwalks, Derenski said. Workers are currently accessing the performance hall through the center’s lobby, and they will close off that access point after the catwalks are completed, he said.
For the next two to three months, workers will use a temporary bridge that has been constructed over the orchestra pit to move equipment in and out of the room, Derenski said. “Normally we’d never have to do this. However, it’s helping us save a month in time.”
On the center’s roof, workers are getting ready to pour concrete into large pans that will be built around heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) units to dampen its noise, Derenski said. “This is a sound-sensitive area, and the system will introduce heat and air conditioning into the area comfortably and quietly,” Brooke said. The HVAC system will not affect practices or performances, he said.
Masons completed the Clayton Center for the Arts’ west wall in about three and one-half weeks and spent another week cleaning the brick. Workers will soon be laying brick on the center’s front side, and officials expect it to be completed within four to five weeks, Brooke said.
When workers move in the next couple weeks to the building’s front, Derenski said they will be halfway through with laying brick.
The Clayton Center for the Arts is tracking on schedule for a December completion date.
Workers are pleased with the project’s progress, Derenski said. “Perspective is hard to come by when you’re knee deep in something. However, this will be a building we come back to 10 to 20 years from now and say ‘I built that.’ The subs (subcontractors) have done an excellent job, and these guys are the ones we would have picked if we could have,” he said.Fundraising opportunities
The project is $6.7 million shy of its goal, said Holly Jackson-Ludlow, vice president for advancement and community relations at Maryville College. Kevin Painter, chairman of the Clayton Center Advisory Board’s executive committee, has raised more than $300,000 towards his $2 million goal since launching a community campaign in January, she said.
“Although there are still large gifts out there, we are really looking for grassroots fundraising,” Jackson-Ludlow said. Clinton A. Wight, a physician at the Blount Memorial Family Care Center at Springbrook, will host a July 19 event to try to raise $1 million, Jackson-Ludlow said. Wight, who graduated from Maryville College in 1997, has been a strong supporter of the Clayton Center for the Arts, she said.
Spaces in and around the Clayton Center are also still available for naming including the outdoor plaza, the instrumental rehearsal hall and several dressing rooms and practice rooms. Naming opportunities, however, for smaller features of the facility have been decided.
Seats in the main performance hall may be named for anyone the donor chooses. Cost is $2,000 per seat.
Donors may also purchase pavers that will be installed in the outdoor plaza. With two lines of text and 14 letters/spaces per line, pavers may be named for anyone the donor chooses. Pavers are $1,000 each but if named for a student, child or grandchild under the age of 18, the discounted price is $250 each. Children’s pavers will be laid in a special section in the plaza.Setting the vision
The Clayton Center’s two buildings will house a 1,200-seat performance hall, a 250-seat recital hall, a 200-seat flexible theater, a grand lobby with a 250-capacity dining area, three gallery/exhibit spaces and an outdoor arts plaza that can be used for special events.
Officials are currently in the process of hiring a marketing director, and have received 180 applications for the position, Jackson-Ludlow said. “We hope to have them in place by July,” she said.
Officials are currently envisioning a two-day opening event in late March, Jackson-Ludlow said.
Robert Hutchens, executive director of the center, has organized a mini-season from March until June 2010, Jackson-Ludlow said. Officials are planning to offer two premiere programs and a children’s program, she said.
Hutchens is also finalizing his five-year budget and business plans, Jackson-Ludlow said.
The Clayton Center for the Arts is a partnership between Maryville College, the cities of Maryville and Alcoa, and state and federal governments. Representatives were meeting Friday to set a mission and vision, rental rates and priority usage, Jackson-Ludlow said.
Officials have already received inquiries about hosting events and weddings at the Clayton Center, she said.