Business park construction
By Angela Delp, as appeared in the Chatham News
Construction on the three entities at the Central Carolina Business Park is coming right along.
Both the Juvenile Justice Center and the new Chatham Hospital building are due to open this year but Central Carolina Community College’s replacement facility is still in its beginning stages.
Central Carolina Community College’s new facility is “still in the design and development phase,” officials said recently.
Construction manager Donnie Lowder said the college is working with Hobbs and Hobbs Architects of Siler City.
“Right now, the architects are analyzing what programs will be in the building,” he said. “They do this so they can determine our space needs and organize the space to meet those needs.”
He said the next step in the process is creating the final drawings, which have to be approved by the state and local governments.
“Once that happens, we’ll advertise bidding so contractors can put out bids on the project,” he said.
Central Carolina Community College’s replacement facility will be approximately 23,000 square feet and will consist of two stories.
“We have not decided all of the programs that will be located in the new building,” Lowder said. “Most of the programs now housed in the Henry Siler School will be moved to the new location.”
The Henry Siler School currently houses literacy programs, Arts Incubator programs, English as the Second Language and some basic skills programs.
Lowder added the school does not have a completion date in mind.
“Until construction begins, we really can’t predict that,” he said.
Work on Chatham Hospital’s replacement facility is due for completion in July or August, officials said Thursday.
Chief Executive Officer Carol Straight gave a tour for employees at the hospital’s new site Thursday.
She said construction is more than 75 percent complete.
“They are paving parking lots, are installing flooring, lights, kitchen equipment and ceiling grids,” she said. “In some areas, paint is finished.”
She added that the sidewalks have been poured and that all the windows, curbs and gutters have been installed.
“We have also been ordering furniture for the inside of the building,” she said. “It’s so exciting to go into the hospital and see just how close we are to finishing.”
The 25-bed facility will occupy a 30-acre site and will be used for surgery, sleep studies, orthopedics, radiology and critical care.
The Juvenile Justice Center will be the first tenant to occupy the business park.
Set to open in April, the $6 million, 32-bed facility is currently under construction. Siler City’s center is one of four new facilities around the state being built to replace older existing facilities.
Girls who are convicted of a crime with four prior misdemeanors will serve a minimum of six months in the center. Juveniles convicted of felonies can serve months and even years until they turn 18.
Female juveniles who are sent to the new facility will take anger management courses, attend academic classes and will be exposed to 80 different occupations.
