Moses Lake Civic Center work continues
Amy Phan/Columbia Basin Herald Civic center design firm Miller Hull Partnership architects and and Team Construction company project superintendent discuss the center's progress. Contractors are close to finishing the city hall shell. Next, workers will work on electrical and plumbing wiring.
MOSES LAKE - With about six months left until its anticipated completion, contractors for the Moses Lake's Civic Center are busy building the structure's exterior wall.
"The project is entering a very exciting and fun phase right now," said Miller Hull Partnership project manager and architect Jeffrey Floor during a site walk through.
"The walls are up and progress will seem to be really quick from this point forward," he said.
Miller Hull Partnership is the consultant group that helped with the Civic Center's design.
The Seattle-based firm does a bi-weekly site walk-through.
On-site project superintendent Bob Walz said contractors are busy completing the exterior part of the structure.
Contractors finished erecting the new city hall's second-level walls and are working on completing the third-level walls. The floors for the Civic Center have been laid.
The new museum center has wall pillars installed.
Once the shell of the building is completed, Walz said, contractors will move on to the internal and electrical plumbing portion.
He said he hopes the shell portion will be done in roughly a month.
"It'll be challenging to get there, but we are going to keep working on our schedules and tighten up," said Walz. "But once the shell is up, we can work on getting (more) workers in there."
Contractors will also work on enclosing the structure to stabilize temperatures. The door and flooring installation need to have stable temperatures, he explained.
Once completed, the 41,300-square-foot community center will feature some highlights such as cafe, council chambers, administrative offices and a 250-feet auditorium.
The Civic Center's city hall portion will feature a mayor's office, which the city currently does not have.
The center will connect to the city's current city hall and bring both buildings to Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Construction on the center started in June and costs $7.63 million.
Miller Hull Partnership is also helping with the city's library renovation plans.