Tools

Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget

Julie Bercik

Story Created: Oct 19, 2009 at 6:12 AM CDT

Story Updated: Oct 19, 2009 at 6:12 AM CDT

The exterior is up, now it's time to start on the interior of the Robert L Wright Health and Sciences Center.
“Starting to run some electric conduits, the walls will start going up in a few weeks,” said David Hansmann, Project Manager.
Construction of the multi million dollar facility started in the spring, and for the most part has stayed on track, thanks to a crew of 90.
"We're actually looking to be ahead of schedule and under budget, we're looking great,” said Hansmann.
And that's good news for Bob Jones, Columbus Tech President.
"We're looking forward for about a year from now to being in operation in this building and serving a lot more students in the health science area,” said Jones.
When the building opens, enrollment is expected to double, creating more jobs.
"The economic impact is going to be enormous,” said Jones. “We'll hire more staff, but primarily our goal is to train more students, put more students in the workforce and boost our economic base."
Expansion comes at a time when the healthcare industry is short workers. Jones said this building, which will be equipped with the latest technology, makes a statement about the school's commitment to education.
“As the population grows older there's going to be a greater need for people in the health sciences field,” he said. “That's what we're here to do, is to resolve that issue."
But before that can happen, a lot of groundwork still needs to be done.
“The walls will start to go up in the next couple of weeks, and we'll have the building dried up to where we can work those finishing touches in the spring,” said Hansmann.