Salina Art Center donors are investing $1.3 million in external and internal renovations and infrastructure enhancements to improve accessibility, safety, visibility, and engagement by reimagining public spaces and elevating member and visitor experiences through technology, environmental amenities, and new programming. Salina Art Center launched the Building Creatively capital campaign on May 25, 2022, and has secured 77% of the needed funds through private donations. An initial goal of $1M was reached, but costs associated with the project skyrocketed between 2022 and today. An additional $300,000 is required to complete the project, and donations are welcome.
Watch our progress!
November 1, 2023
Today we turned the keys over to Hutton Construction! We have every confidence in their skill and know they love the Art Center as much as we do. We are in great hands.
November 10, 2023 - Demolition
We have had a good start to the Salina Art Center Renovation project this week. The selective demolition has been progressing very well. We have also been able to excavate down and locate the existing sanitary sewer service on the outside of the building and it appears that it will be a suitable point for us to tie in the new sanitary line. We have also discovered a couple, previously unknown conditions, which is definitely not unusual on a renovation project. One of these conditions is the existence of another floor slab, under the slab we see on the surface. Instead of the 4” to 5” thick floor we would expect, it is a total thickness of about 9 ½” of concrete. This will require some additional saw cutting and concrete removal to get our new underfloor plumbing and electrical rough-in installed, but it is certainly not an insurmountable obstacle.
November 17
The selective demolition work wrapped up, including the new opening through the masonry wall between the north and south buildings.. The underground plumbing rough-in is now underway as the electricians begin to trace and repair the circuits cut during the floor removal.
December 1
In the past couple of weeks, we have made good headway and had no new surprises. We were able to wrap up a few miscellaneous demolition items. In addition, the plumbers and electricians have been working on new underground rough-in, as well as repairing the circuits cut during the floor removal. This week, the underground plumbing and electrical were finished, inspected and the concrete floors were patched back. Layout for the new walls has been completed and a portion of our hollow metal door frames were delivered.
December 8
Our work has continued to roll forward this week. The metal stud framing and hollow metal door frame installation got underway. In addition, the plumbers began working on their in-wall rough-in. We also removed the remaining ductwork demo debris from the building. When I (Misty) walked through, I could actually pretend I was in my new office space!
December 15
We have had a good week of progress. The metal stud framing is continuing to move forward, along with hollow metal door frame and wood blocking installation. In addition, the plumbers are continuing to move forward on their overhead rough-in and in-wall rough-in. Boulder Polishing completed the mock-ups for four different colors/types of urethane floor coating, which I believe we all agreed was helpful in moving us toward a decision on the color and type of coating.
December 22
It has been a good week as we have continued to make progress on a number of activities. The metal stud framing and hollow metal door frame installation is complete in the north part of the building with the wood blocking/backing nearly complete. In addition, the plumbers are nearing completion of their rough-in. The electricians and sheet metal workers got a good start on their rough-in and ductwork installation this week, as well. Today, we did some exploratory core drilling at the proposed new “art” sign location on the east side of the building. This was done to get a better idea of how deep the existing concrete foundation extends below ground surface, since it will need to be removed to accommodate the design for the new sign and foundation.
January 1, 2024
Even with the holidays, we have made good progress over the past few weeks. The remaining metal stud framing and hollow metal door frame installation was completed in the south building. In the north building, the remaining wood blocking, plumbing, and electrical rough-in within the walls was completed and inspected by the City. This allowed us to begin hanging gyp board, which is nearly complete now. The sheet metal workers have most of the new ductwork installed and are working on their new roof penetrations. The new wood wall cap and base material were delivered. We also completed some exploratory core drilling at the proposed new “art” sign in front of the building to determine the scope of work required to remove the existing concrete foundation for the installation of the new sign foundation.
January 12
With the exception of a few locations that remain to be patched-in, the installation of the gyp board was completed. This allowed taping and finishing to begin, although the finishers were delayed from starting a couple of days, due to weather and road conditions which prevented them from traveling to the jobsite. The piping insulation was also mostly completed. In addition, the electrical rough-in continued, along with rough-in for the new exterior lighting.
January 17
The most noticeable activity has been the drywall taping and finishing, which has been moving along well. In addition, the electricians have been continuing with rough-in and wiring. We were happy to receive approval from the City, this week, to utilize the existing steel HVAC equipment supports for the new roof mounted condensing units, with some minor modifications. This helped achieve a significant savings in our structural and miscellaneous steel budget that could be re-allocated to needs we have for the new “art” sign in front of the building.
Janurary 26
The drywall finishing was completed, which allowed the priming and first coat painting to be completed this week, including some repaired areas on ceiling of the north building. Electricians have been continuing with rough-in and wiring. The painters also completed first coat pre-finishing painted wood wall cap and base, as well as pre-finishing the natural finished oak base to be used in the south building. The installation of ceiling grid began this week, as well.
February 2
We are happy for the progress that has continued to roll along this week. The ceiling grid was completed in the Restrooms, Office and Conference Room, which allowed installation of border ceiling tile, light fixtures, HVAC registers and grilles to proceed. The work on the suspended ceiling cloud above the reception station was begun, as well. Our electricians have continued with wiring and installation of light fixtures on the exterior of the building. In addition, the floor finish prep work adjacent to walls began. We have also begun installing the wood wall cap trim in the north building and the natural finish wood base in the Gallery.
February 9
The electricians have continued with their rough-in and wiring, as well as light fixture installation. In the Kitchen, the range hood installation got underway. Also, the porcelain wall tile installation began in the Restrooms. In addition, the prep work for the floor finish continued. Following up the preliminary acceptance of the latest epoxy/wood chip/urethane floor finish mock-up, today, Boulder Polishing will be applying the final urethane coating for final review on Monday.
