Springbrook Work Zone

Final Phase of Coming Home Expansion to Begin

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:09:00 +0000

In preparation for the construction of the new School at Springbrook playground and bike paths, demolition of the Loomis Training Center has begun today, Friday, May 11. The demolition of the building will take approximately one week, with the site cleared by next Friday, May 18. Work on the new playground will begin immediately thereafter—with the playground tentatively scheduled for completion by the end of June. Please use caution around the demolition site.

Erected in the mid-1960s, the Loomis Training Center has served multiple purposes throughout the years, including use as a site for administrative offices and new employee training. As was discussed in Springbrook's Executive Presentations in January, the need of the organization have outgrown the building, making the nearly $100,000 of maintenance it would require over the next 12 months an unnecessary financial responsibility given the opportunities presented with acquisition of the Oneonta Campus (former St. Mary's School building).

The Springbrook Facilities Department has diligently removed all usable items from the building, including all usable architectural elements. These items will be stored for future use—no items will be made available to employees or the public.

We are excited about beginning this next and final phase of the Coming Home Expansion and look forward to beautiful summer afternoons enjoying our new playground and paths!

For questions regarding the demolition, please email Tom Ford, Director of Facilities, at fordt@springbrookny.org.

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Construction on the Coming Home projects has nearly finished! Here are the latest changes at Springbrook:
• The 3 new residences for the Golisano School Program are complete. They were turned over to Springbrook on Sept 1, 2011
• The Golisano School addition to the School at Springbrook was completed and turned over on Oct 29, 2011
• Renovations to the gymnasium and cafeteria are about 50% complete with a scheduled turnover of March 2012
• The infrastructure portion of the project was completed in July 2011
• Site contractor, ZMK, has pulled off the job until spring, having completed all but two scheduled projects

Roadway Update

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Starting Tuesday, May 3, 2011 ZMK will be excavating parallel to RT. 28 in front of the Admin. Dutton E.I. and Menhart buildings for water and waste. They are fencing the areas as they go. Please exercise caution if you are near the work zone

New Gym Roof Takes Form

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:27:00 +0000

The progress on the new gym has been impressive over the last few weeks! The roof is beginning to take form. Take a look for yourself!

New Community Home

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:59:00 +0000

The main campus isn't the only place you'll find construction this year. We have a new community home being built in Oneonta! The foundation went in today, courtesy of Upstate Construction Paving.

Construction Parking Update: April 18, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:49:00 +0000

Due to the nature of the expansion project, some of the parking lots and roadways on Springbrook's Main Campus will be closed from time to time during construction. On Monday, April 18, 2011 the east side of the school parking lot (closest to Route 44) will be fenced off. The temporary lot at the Loomis Center is now available for education staff only. See the map bellow for details.

Playground Research Group

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:43:00 +0000

Earlier this week, Springbrook’s Playground Research Group was out testing different types of playground equipment for the New Golisano School. Do you think the Playground Research Group will be able to stop “researching” after the equipment is installed on campus?

2011 Is the Year Dreams Come True

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:50:00 +0000

In 2006, Springbrook had a dream to expand the School at Springbrook and keep kids in New York, closer to their families. The New Year brings the realization of this dream. This summer Springbrook will open the doors to three new residences at the School at Springbrook bringing 24 new students home.

Construction crews have been busy working on the new residences. Over the holiday break they finished the subfloors and put up the exterior walls of Residence 1! Now we can start to see what the new homes will look like. We've gotten snow and more is forecast to come, but Residence 1 is scheduled to be weather tight by the end of January, with Residences 2 and 3 shortly after, so hopefully the big storms will hold off until March.

The last wall of the gym addition foundation was poured at the end of December. To protect the new concrete from the weather, crews put up temporary protection and didn't waste any time placing cement blocks for the locker room walls. Over the next few weeks one crew will be busy putting in steel supports and working on the gym addition floor as another finishes the walls of the Residences.

Stay tuned as work begins on the classroom addition!

Twas the Week Before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:42:00 +0000

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the campus

the crews were still working, and making a ruckus.

The foundations were laid on the hillside with care,

for the new residences that soon would be there.

They have the supports and have started the floor

Soon they'll build walls and put in a front door.

But that's not all the work to be done,

There's also a gym where kids can fun.

The gym has a base made of steel and concrete

And this spring a wood floor for shoed little feet.

The gym will be home to the basketball team,

There parents can watch kids capture their dream.

The field has been cleared and leveled and packed,

for six new classrooms for kids with knapsacks.

The classrooms are new, but lessons are not,

Give it your best, it's worth your best shot!

Happy Holidays from the School at Springbrook

Work on Foundations Progresses Despite Wet Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:36:00 +0000

The weather this fall has been quite wet, but that hasn't stopped ZMK Construction from working on the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook Expansion.

The foundation for the first residence was completed Tuesday, November 16! The forms for the foundation walls at residence #2 and the first concrete footings for residence #3 are being placed this week. Work on the foundation for the new gymnasium will start after Thanksgiving.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was on site November 16th and Springbrook received approval to open up more land for construction. The removal of old waterproofing and wood siding from around the school is complete and the underground conduit for the electric and communications up the hill to the residences is being installed this week.

Work Progressing Despite Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:38:00 +0000

The Oneonta area has experienced a lot of rain this fall! Despite the wet conditions, construction on the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook is progressing fairly close to schedule.

The early part of October saw a lot of excavation and removal of topsoil on Springbrook's Main Campus. A dirt road was cleared from the school to where the three new residences will be located on the hill. Just look at the view from where the new houses will be!

Work has begun on the first of the three new residences, which will be home to eight new students each. The footings were completed the week of October 18th and the foundation will be poured this week. The foundations of houses 2 and 3 will follow and framing of the houses should start the week of Thanksgiving.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: Work begins on multiple areas of Springbrook's Main Campus

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:07:00 +0000

The week of October 12-17, 2010 will be very busy as ZMK Construction works on multiple areas of the Springbrook Main Campus.

Construction Timeline
Remediation will start on the school beginning 10/11/10 and will continue for up to 10 days. The areas of the school under construction are highlighted in purple on this map. NOTE: There will be considerable noise involved with the removal of the waterproofing materials and excavation along the existing foundation.

The stairs leading from the School's west side up to Sunshine and Snell houses will be removed sometime between Tuesday, October 12 and Friday, October 22 as a part of the remediation. Because of heavy construction traffic on the upper road, staff and residents of Snell and Sunshine Houses will soon be bussed everywhere on campus. There will also be a traffic guard at the intersection of the road and the house driveways.

The contractors will also be working on cutting the new road for the residential area into the existing hillside.

Upcoming Parking Changes
Effective immediately, all Springbrook staff and visitors are required to have a parking permit to park on Springbrook's Main Campus or Krol's lot. All Main Campus employees are issued one parking permit. If you have more than one vehicle, please provide Jennifer or Jessica with secondary/tertiary vehicle information. If you have any questions, please call Jennifer at Ext. 302 or Jessica at Ext. 316.

Contractor HQ
The site contractor will be working on Work Zone #1 (in the field across from the school) to prepare for job trailers and the building material staging areas. This area is now fenced off and is off limits to staff, residents and visitors.

Construction Update: Areas of Main Campus Fenced off for Construction

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:52:00 +0000

Upcoming Parking Changes

Effective Monday, October 4, 2010 work will start on fencing off two work zones on Springbrook's main campus, as outlined in red on this map. The first area is the construction area behind the school and the other is the construction lay down area in the field across from the school. These fenced off areas will be off-limits to all students, staff and visitors.

Because the upper road will see heavy construction traffic, staff and residents of Snell and Sunshine Houses will soon be bussed everywhere on campus. There will also be a traffic guard at the intersection of the road and the house driveways.

Updates on parking and roadway changes will be posted on the Parking Map page of Springbrook's Work Zone website.

Construction Update: More Equipment Moving on Springbrook's Campus

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:44:00 +0000

Construction Timeline
On Monday, September 27, ZMK Construction will be on site to locate the 100 pair communications cable that goes through Infiltration Basin 3. They will start the basin on Tuesday, September 28, and start to demo the dry wells. They will also start to fill the lower contractor staging area. Snow fence will be raised to keep people our of the staging area and after the site is filled, the snow fence will be replaced with chain link fence.

Also on September 27, small bulldozers and other equipment will be seen at the corner of Route 44 and State Highway 28, and the entrance to the Main Campus, to install construction signs.

Also next week, workers will be on campus to post signs notifying all of upcoming asbestos removal. The removal will not start for another couple of weeks, however.

Work continues on the area up on the hill where the future residences will be. ZMK Construction is working on getting the foundations for each house excavated so as to begin pouring the foundations on October 18. As they crew will only complete the foundation for one house at a time, work on these foundations will continue into December.

Upcoming Staff Parking Changes
The area behind the school, shown in red on this map, will be fenced off effective Monday, October 4. There will be extensive work ongoing in this area as two out of three of the school addition foundations will be located there. The fenced off area will be off-limits to all students, staff and visitors.

Because the upper road will see heavy construction traffic, staff and residents of Snell and Sunshine Houses will soon be bussed everywhere on campus. There will also be a traffic guard at the intersection of the road and the house driveways.

This weekend the Henhouse next to Loomis Learning Center will move to a new location behind Menhardt. The space it formerly occupied will be used as a temporary parking lot during construction. Look for updates on when this parking lot will become usable in the next few weeks.

As of today, there are no new parking restrictions. A reminder that all Main Campus staff must have Springbrook parking passes on their cars at all times. If staff have not yet received their pass, they should contact the administrative assistant in their department. Visitors should stop in to the White Building to obtain a visitor parking pass.

Construction Update: More Equipment Arriving - Beware of Trucks

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:38:00 +0000

ZMK Construction will be bringing in a lot more equipment to the Springbrook Main Campus beginning on Monday, September 13, 2010. Most equipment will be unloaded at the top of the hill.

Note that equipment traffic will be especially busy next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Due to the narrowness of the upper road entrance by the School, large trucks will be coming in through the lower campus. This will continue until equipment is in place to widen the upper road entrance.

Staff, students and visitors walking along the lower campus roads (including up to the School), should be alert for trucks and equipment at all times. Because these trucks are large and cannot stop easily, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY MOVE OFF THE ROAD IF YOU SEE A TRUCK COMING THROUGH.

Construction Timeline
Construction will begin on Wednesday, September 15 or Thursday, September 16, 2010. This phase includes preparing and leveling the hill for the foundations of the new houses.

Foundations for the houses will be poured in mid-October. Look for foundations for the School expansion to be poured in mid-November.

Interior renovations for the School will begin in 2011.

Upcoming Staff Parking Changes
Currently, staff and visitors may continue to park in all lots, except along the upper road. A temporary staff parking lot will be built behind the Loomis Center in September/October to make up for parking that will be lost as construction progresses. A parking map will be updated when the lot is laid out and will be available on the Parking Map page of the Springbrook Construction website.

Contractor HQ
The contractors' “lay down area” will be in the field in front of the School, where the manhole covers are currently located. This area will include job trailers, parking for contractors, product drop off, etc. The space will be fenced off and is off-limits for all non-construction personnel. Look for construction on this area to begin almost immediately.

Contractor Parking
Contractors will be parking at the top of the hill, where the new houses will be built, as well as in the lay down area in front of the school.

Construction Equipment Arrives Tomorrow - Parking Adjustments

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:43:00 +0000

Starting this afternoon, there is NO parking until further notice on the dirt road behind the School at Springbrook's building as ZMK Construction will start bringing large equipment vehicles to the Springbrook Main Campus on Friday, September 10, 2010.

As construction progresses, some parking lots and roads on Springbrook's Main Campus will be closed. For more information on parking, please visit our Construction Website.

Construction Equipment Arrives This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:29:00 +0000

Phase One is beginning! Site contractor ZMK Construction of Apalachin, NY will start bringing in heavy equipment this week to start the infrastructure renovations. The equipment will be parked on the hill behind the School at Springbrook, near the site of the new residential complex.

Don't forget to check back to the Parking & Construction Maps page for information on parking or driving disruptions.

Bids have been opened

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Construction for the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook is moving along. Bids were opened on the evening of Friday, August 20 at the LeChase Construction field office at Springbrook’s Main Campus. Look for equipment to be moving in within the next few weeks.

Springbrook Breaks Ground on Tom Golisano School at Springbrook

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Kennedy) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:27:00 +0000

On July 29, 2010 students, parents and staff, along with New York State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I-Oneonta) and Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R/C/I-Schoharie) held a groundbreaking ceremony today for Springbrook’s new Tom Golisano School at Springbrook expansion. Many community members and state and local leaders attended the historic event to celebrate the $22.5 million expansion, which reflects Springbrook’s over 40 year commitment to meeting the ever-changing needs of individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Oneonta-based residential and day School at Springbrook currently serves 76 New York children with developmental disabilities. When completed, the expansion will create an Autism School within the School for 36 students, including 24 new children who are currently placed (or are in danger of being placed) in residential programs out of state. The project will include 3 duplex-style residential homes, a new gymnasium, kitchen/cafeteria and extensive interior and exterior infrastructure renovations.

The expansion also brings a name change to the school, which will now be known as the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook, in honor of philanthropist B. Thomas Golisano, whose $2.5 million challenge grant was vital to the expansion. “This is a terrific organization doing excellent work on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities," said Golisano. “I'm happy I could play a part in bringing our children closer to home to receive the care they need."

At the lunchtime ceremony, Springbrook CEO Patricia E. Kennedy recognized the strong partnership between Springbrook, the Golisano Foundation, numerous friends and donors, families, students and the State of New York – all of whom have supported the project.

“We always knew this was the right project, at the right time, for all the right reasons,” Kennedy stated. “When we began planning in 2006, we knew that it was right for our mission, but it was also right for our area and especially for the hundreds families who sent their children out of state because there was not enough space for them in New York. The project means so much to so many, but it would not have been possible without the help of people like Tom Golisano or Jim Seward or Pete Lopez, who saw in us the promise of a better tomorrow. We could not have done this alone.”

Speaking on behalf of the State of New York, Seward acknowledged the many benefits this project will have especially for Otsego County and the surrounding area.

“The Springbrook expansion will change lives for the better on several levels and will pay future dividends, both economically and socially,” Seward asserted. “The project will provide quality jobs at a time when the area economy needs a boost. It will produce long term savings to the state, something every single taxpayer can appreciate. And, most important, the expansion will improve the lives of children with developmental disabilities and their families. I have been proud to partner with Patricia Kennedy and the dedicated staff at Springbrook in securing state support for the life-changing expansion project and look forward to the day when the doors open to the exciting new venture.”

Lopez also joined Seward in congratulating Springbrook, citing especially the economic advantages and cost savings to state taxpayers.

“While providing needed services to those struggling with autism is a compelling public priority in and of itself, this project carries additional benefits to the region and New York State as a whole,” Lopez said in a prepared statement. “To date, the state is forced to rely on out of state service providers to meet the variety of needs presented by the students. By offering these services within the state, New Yorkers will realize some $27 million in tuition savings over the life of the project. Just as important, we anticipate the creation of some 112 new jobs in the region, from maintenance and direct care to nurses, therapists, aides, teachers and administration, all of whom will contribute to the area economy. I am thrilled to be a part of this vital project.”

Parent Wendy Martinez and student Jennifer E. spoke from the heart, describing how the expansion will impact their lives, and the lives of so many other families. “[The expansion] has brought us hope that more kids will be accepted than pushed away,” Jennifer began. “Courage is to step forward into life and fulfill their future and strength to help special kids in need look back and say that Springbrook really helped me. Every kid from on campus and off campus will be in heaven because these kids really deserve a bigger and more improved Springbrook. Once this project is finished, it will change kids’ lives. So let’s step forward and make this the best new and improved Springbrook that people will cherish for generations and generations.”

Ground Breaking Ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Four years of fundraising. Four years of planning. Four years of hoping. And now we get to build.

Springbrook’s $22 million expansion and renovation will create a specialized Autism School within the School at Springbrook for 36 children with moderate to severe autism – 24 of them new students -- while also improving services to Springbrook’s current students, families and staff. The existing school building and campus will undergo extensive renovations – including construction of a six-classroom autism wing, new kitchen/cafeteria and gymnasium, three duplex-style houses and renovations to the campus infrastructure.

The project, which is projected to save the state $890,000 a year, also brings many economic benefits to central New York. In addition to construction jobs for local companies during the 20-month building period, Springbrook will ultimately create 112 full-time, permanent jobs in the education, health and social services sectors and add $5 million annually into the region’s economy.

Join Springbrook’s students, families, staff and Trustees at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook on Thursday, July 29th at 12:30pm.

Celebrate with us as we start construction and begin a new era.

What: 12:30 p.m. ceremony, followed by tours.
When: Noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, July 29, 2010
Where: Springbrook
2705 State Highway 28
Oneonta, NY 13820