Stalco Wraps Upgrade at Manhattan Community College Pool and Aquatics Center
NEW YORK – General contractor Stalco Construction has completed a $7.2 million renovation of the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s (BMCC’s) aquatics center, including the 220,000-gallon pool. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) served as the project manager. BMCC is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.
The 4,575-square foot pool is located in a campus building on Harrison Street and the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan. “We performed extensive aesthetic and infrastructure renovations to the 10,500-square foot facility, including work on the steampipe network and the concrete structural system underneath the pool,” stated Kevin G. Harney, Stalco’s Principal and CFO.
While the pool was taken out of service during construction, the team was working during the school year (as well as over holidays) in an occupied building on a busy college campus within a crowded city. Thus, security of access and construction safety were of the utmost importance. “First, we completely fenced off the entire construction area, making sure students and faculty could not enter the site. The next step was to remove two large 5’x12′ windowpanes from the pool area on the Harrison Street side. With this, we created independent access to the construction area,” said Stalco’s Christopher Caulfield, a superintendent on the project. The Stalco team was careful to ensure that this independent access did not interfere with foot traffic.
In addition to Stalco, the project team included construction manager AECOM; the architect and engineer of record was MP Engineers & Architects; Genesys Engineering P.C. was the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineer; Eldor Contracting Corporation was the electrical contractor; Premier Mechanical Services, Inc. served as mechanical contractor; ARA Plumbing Corporation was the plumbing contractor; Norberto Pools served as the pool contractor; and the waterproofing and tile work subcontractor was Baybrent Tile Corporation.
The scope of work also included building a new staff office, mounting all-new diving platforms, renovating a storage room, and installing two new ADA-compliant S.R. Smith’s handicapped lifts to accommodate swimmers in wheelchairs. The lifts are individually operated with a system of button controls. The team installed a competition-level timing system with touchpads, by Colorado Time.
For the most part, the lighting above the pool remains the same. “We cleaned and, where necessary, repaired the existing fixtures, which are long tubular lights designed for installation over difficult-to-access areas,” said Adele Todisco, Stalco’s assistant project manager. The lighting sources are located on both ends of the long tubes, while a series of mirrors and diffusers in the middle portion of the tube serve to spread the light throughout. Maintenance workers simply access the lighting sources at each end from the walkways around the pool when bulbs need to be changed. However, the team did install a new array of emergency lights.
Headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., with a regional office in New York City, Stalco Construction, Inc. is a full-service general contracting and construction management firm active in the Greater New York area and on Long Island. Building Design & Construction magazine recently ranked Stalco as the 101st largest general contractor and the 59th largest construction manager in the United States.