Construction project update: ramping up for Alaska's 'other' season.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

Even with advances in winter construction, Alaska's few warm months are still generally the best for advancements on construction projects. Staging and preparation often takes place in March and April as the ground has begun to thaw and warmer temperatures and increased sunlight allow for increased productivity. Construction activity begins to ramp up at the end of April and beginning of May; below is a brief look at a few of the construction projects that are just beginning, moving on to new phases, or have been completed.

Alaska Neurology Center

While new construction dominates the season, remodeling and repurposing of space also represents a portion of the construction activity in any given year. For example, the old Borders Books on Dimond Boulevard in Anchorage was extensively remodeled last year by Davis Constructors & Engineers, Inc. for the Alaska Neurology Center. The new facility designed by ECI/Hyer Architecture & Interiors has enabled Alaska Neurology to combine more services under one roof with the increased square footage. The company added a new, larger MRI capable of holding patients that weigh up to five hundred pounds and a medical spa. The six-bedroom sleep center has been brought under the same roof, and the walk-in migraine clinic is better equipped for patient comfort with individual rooms that have soundproof walls and adjustable lighting. With the extra square footage comes additional services available through the increased patient capacity the Center is able to accommodate.

Kodiak Long Term Care Facility

According to Jenith Flynn, marketing coordinator at Davis Constructors, the contractor for the Kodiak Long Term Care Facility, this project was "substantially complete in January 2014." The project, located on Kodiak Island, was first started in February 2013 and cost approximately $15 million. The project is owned by the Kodiak Island Borough, and the engineering firm for the project was Architects Alaska.

The facility is a residential, duplex-style housing unit that accommodates twenty-two residents; it replaces the previous long-term care building, which needed updates to become code compliant and be more comfortable and "homelike" for the residents. The new building is approximately 20,782 square feet, and "the common support core of the building accommodates a production kitchen, general storage, delivery garage, housekeeping facilities, residential laundry, and administrative offices," Flynn says.

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