The HVAC project is focused on the main building pumps for the A and C Buildings and East and West Tech.
The connections from the well field to the main pumps are complete.
“The main pumps have all been connected and successfully passed their initial startup and pressure/flow testing,” said Jack Burns, the director of Campus Planning and Facilities.
Burns said all the new equipment and electronic controls are being integrated into the new web-based front-end system.
The old boilers were left in the C Building basement to keep proper heating over the winter.
"Now that it is spring, it is time for us to finish the job and make the final connections to the new system and dump the old boilers and chiller lines," Burns said.
In the past, Burns switched from heating to cooling around April 15, but he will be moving the switch up a few days to accommodate the remaining work.
Burns said it will take about four weeks to take out the boilers and finish the project.
Since the project involves demolition, there will be pedestrian traffic changes in the C Building.
Starting April 3, the east corridor in the basement will be closed.
The Little Theater can only be accessed through the backstage, using the door near the stairwell on the north side.
The Information System offices will be open except for C-15 and C-16.
Burns said there will be temporary walls built to keep the work area and building occupants safe.
The construction crews will be as considerate as possible with the level of noise they create, Burns said.
"We will try to be as accommodating as possible, but there are no guarantees that your classroom will not be moved to another building for the remainder of the semester," Burns said. "For this possibility, I apologize in advance."
At the MCCC Board of Trustees meeting on March 27, Sue Wetzel, vice president of Administration, said the first part of the project will go online in April.
“Our goal is to have the new geothermal system up and running by then, at least for the A Building, East/West Tech, and the CLRC, handling both the heating and cooling by that time as well,” Burns said.
The L Building still needs to undergo HVAC renovations. It will be added to the system before the Fall 2017 Semester.
“Jack is giddy with excitement,” Wetzel said.
“It is very exciting to be in the boiler houses,” she said. “You see the $16 million, and it’s just phenomenal.”
“We are cutting edge. There isn’t another community college in the country that’s going to heat and cool the majority of their campus this way.”
The college is trying to find a national publication that will write about the project.
“It’s really noteworthy, and we should all be really proud of it,” Wetzel said. “Scared of the debt, but proud of the project.”
The college is going to stage an event with president Kojo Quartey in one of the boiler houses to celebrate the system going live.
