Being able to stand on School Rd. outside of the Comstock Community Center and see through the building to the fields behind is sort of an unusual sight. But considering that the construction phase of renovation on Wilton’s community center started on March 9 of this year, it’s understandable that the images that GOOD Morning Wilton‘s WHS intern Wyatt Dean captured of the current state of the building show serious headway.
The project, say officials, is targeted to be finished by February of 2016, and almost all of the building is being redone.
The restoration process will take time and effort, says Judy Zucker, chair of the Comstock Building Committee, who adds that workers on site are proceeding according to plan, and they’re already seeing marked building improvements along the way.
“They have worked carefully, and they have worked on schedule and it really is an efficient operation. A lot of us didn’t really understand how extensive and intensive the work would be,” Zucker says. We have two Turner [Construction] representatives on site, Monday through Friday, full time. They are really on top of every step of the process, and they work directly with the contractors. When you look at the scope of the project, there are 17 different contractors. The skill that the construction manager has in making the schedule work, is remarkable.”
As a whole, the builders and contractors are doing a great job with the project so far, Zucker says, and the building process is right on schedule.
“It’s very complex, and they are able to create new mechanicals, electrical, plumbing — all of those new connections. This is all while there are still people in the building. You have to maintain the existing system for those who are occupying it, at the same time that you are creating the new system. I think we are doing very well. We are okay on time, and budget wise and its really amazing,” she adds.
The contractors split the project into three phases to allow the departments that use Comstock as workspace to remain. Those include Parks and Recreation, Wilton Social Services, and the Wilton Food Pantry–which did need to suspend service temporarily for one month, but is back up and running now.
“Parks & Rec has moved a lot of its programming to other locations now. [Director] Steve Pierce has been very flexible with working things out, and it’s been great. Phase one, which started on March 9, it was what you could see in the west wing, along with the middle belly. Some work in the east wing could also fit under phase one, although the older parts of the building are currently getting more work done. We are hoping to finish phase one by the end of August, or by September,” Zucker says.
Of course, as is typical with renovating a building as old as Comstock, it’s inevitable that surprises will be uncovered. “There were glitches in due dates, primarily with the renovations. You come across things that you couldn’t possibly know before hand. With renovating, once you’re in the field, you find things that nobody could know,” she adds.
Among some of the trickier issues that they’ve had to handle include hazardous materials, weak floors and weak ceilings in certain rooms. Phase one involved a check for any hazardous chemicals in and around Comstock, and the workers on site properly disposed of any findings, she explained, in order to get clearance to proceed with further renovations.
According to Zucker, the removal “went beautifully,” and there were no serious problems to report.
“I think the town will be very proud of the building when it’s finished. I think it serves such a wide span of Wilton people, young to old. It’s a shame that everybody won’t realize how much work was required on a step by step basis. People will just see the finished project, and you won’t see the steps, but it’s just amazing.”
Residents can keep up to date with the renovations on the Town of Wilton’s website, where a one page summary of the progress appears at the first of each month. There are also twice-monthly meetings of the Comstock building committee that are open to the public; agendas and minutes are published on the town website as well.
