An army of plumbers, electricians, carpenters and painters will spend most of their waking moments on site over the next 13 weeks at the city’s second oldest residential college, working to update accommodation ahead of ‘‘heads on beds’’ come February 14.
The 110-year-old college, owned by the Presbyterian Church, is undergoing an extensive $4million refurbishment, with the majority of renovation to its Arden House and The Close.
There is a tight 13-week construction schedule for the full upgrade to 102 of the college’s rooms, which follows a major $12million redevelopment and earthquake strengthening in 2012.
Knox College Master Dr Graham Redding said the majority of work would be on the four Arden House units, which were being extensively upgraded.
‘‘These date back around 40 years, originally built as flats for theology students, so this will be the first time they are fit-for-purpose, with modern rooms but also common areas and additional safety and security measures,’’ he said.
Local project management company Logic Group, which was also responsible for the refurbishment of the University of Otago’s Hayward College last summer, is project managing the redevelopment.
Contractors had been on site for four weeks and things were tracking along ‘‘really well’’, with initial demo work completed ahead of schedule, Logic Group project manager Andrew Voss said.
There were generally between 40 and 60 construction workers on site, with 210 workers across 30 contractors already inducted into the site.
This included a number of apprentices and students for whom Mr Voss said the holiday period was a great opportunity to learn.
‘‘It’s an extensive job with tight timeframes but it is still very well thought out with changes designed to make students’ lives better and certainly more comfortable.’’
The deadline could not be shifted.
‘‘They move in when they move in, so we all need to work as a co-ordinated unit to ensure that all the moving parts are in place. For lots of us, that means giving up our Christmas holidays.’’
He said the collaborative effort also extended to the council, which worked to a weekly ‘‘rolling inspection’’ programme, signing off elements of the refurbishment as they were completed.
The hall and its grounds — home to 262 students — covers a 5ha area near the Dunedin Botanic Garden in Opoho.
