Brock University’s Schmon Tower Renovation Moves Ahead

Ball Construction has begun work on a 14.3 million bid-spec project located in front of the main administration building at the heart of Brock University’s St. Catharines campus. This involves demolition of the existing structure to accommodate new steel infill and construction of a second-storey addition.

With extensive experience working in university settings, Ball is very capable of handling the usual issues that arise on this type of project.

The project is to be a show piece that brings a presence to the main entrance of Schmon Tower—a 12-story building and the largest structure on campus. We are filling in the existing front courtyard, which is surrounded by existing concrete structure on four sides. The space will be an open meeting area with breakout areas for study, multipurpose rooms, labs and socialization areas. A large skylight will be centrally located bringing plenty of natural light into the space.

Tying into the existing concrete structure has been challenging. It has required the drilling of over 2,000 holes for installing dowels with epoxy into the face of the tower, in order to create reinforcing beams as well as locations to attach the steel framing.

Safety continues to be a top priority as this is a busy hub on campus with many students around at all times. Special care has been taken to ensure pedestrian traffic is routed appropriately around the site and deliveries are properly coordinated.

We are on a 12-month timeline, which is tight considering the amount of work to be completed. The owner is very pleased with our progress to date.

This project is slated for completion in Spring 2018.