Coe College upgrades on track, despite cold

Temperatures last week plummeted into the teens, with winds gusting above 30 mph. But the arctic blast hasn't slowed construction on a new Coe College athletic and recreation complex.

And Coe President David McInally said he doesn't think it will — even if below-average temperatures and icy blasts persist.

'The builders got ahead of schedule, thanks to the fantastic weather we had through the fall,' he said. 'There's enough under roof now so they'll be able to work through the winter.'

Not all the remaining work on Coe's largest-ever capital project is 'under roof,' however. Midway through the private college's $24 million Make Your Move campaign, crews this week are moving forward with plans to erect a new fitness bridge across College Drive.

That sky bridge, the only one of its kind in Cedar Rapids outside downtown, will connect an Eby Fieldhouse addition with an updated Clark Racquet Center, according to Coe spokesman Rod Pritchard.

'The last phase of the framework is this construction of the fitness bridge,' he said. 'Then they'll start the interior work.'

Even if a few details are outstanding when the new athletic complex is scheduled to open in August 2017, McInally and Pritchard said they expect most of the project to stay on track — including construction of a new performance arena, renovation of the Eby Fieldhouse and enhancement of Clark Field.

'The fact that they have most of the framework done and a lot of the exterior done is probably good timing — in terms of winter,' Pritchard said.

Coe in October 2015 went public with the historic initiative involving both $21 million in upgrades to its athletic and recreation complex and a $3 million renovation and expansion of Hickok Hall.

The goal of the comprehensive 200,000-square-foot athletic and recreation complex, according to officials, is to enhance the wellness, recreational and competitive aspects of campus life — as more than 90 percent of Coe's 1,400-some students participate in intramural sports.

Nearly all Coe students regularly work out in the college's fitness center, according to Pritchard, and about 450 varsity athletes compete in the 21 intercollegiate sports in which Coe completes.

'An exciting part of the athletic complex is building that bridge between the new athletic complex, which is linked to our existing field house, with our racket center across College Drive,' Pritchard said. 'That's going to be a really stunning visual feature for us.'

The school's fitness center will extend onto the mostly glass bridge.

'So students will actually be able to work out while the cars drive underneath,' Pritchard said. 'We think it sends a nice message to the community about how we're dedicated to health and wellness at Coe.'

The college has rolled out its project in phases, started in summer 2015 with the installation of a new track at Clark Field. Those field and stadium upgrades, which included additional seating, finished in 2015 — well before construction on both Hickok Hall and the athletic complex began in May 2016.

Hickock's renovation and expansion — which gave portions of the heavily used academic building a face-lift, upgraded accessibility, improved energy efficiency and 5,000 square feet more office and classroom space — was completed in August, in time for fall classes, Pritchard said.

Athletic upgrades slated for August 2017 include:

l A new performance

area and competition court that will seat more than 2,000

l Renovation of Eby

Fieldhouse, including conversion of the current gymnasium and wrestling areas into a multipurpose court for recreational sports and intercollegiate practices

l Additional basketball courts

in Eby, along with expanded locker rooms, classrooms and athletic offices

l A new facade

that will wrap around the southern and eastern faces of the natatorium and join the new performance arena and competition court with the fitness center and bridge

l New wrestling facilities

, making Coe 'unique in foregrounding wrestling'

l An enhanced Clark

Racquet Center that will feature a new elevator other upgrades.

The upgrades, according to Pritchard, should affect every student — along with staff and faculty members — in that they will free up both space in the fitness center and allow intramural and competitive sports to exist more cohesively.

Right now, Pritchard said, facilities are used from early morning to late at night — some intramural practices and games are scheduled as late as midnight.

'It will really alleviate the heavy use of that and allow for us to have more programs on campus at more favorable times for all students,' he said.

President McInally said the new facilities will enhance Coe's ability to recruit and grow its enrollment. They also should expand Coe's connection with the community.

'We expect to share the space,' he said. 'We aren't using it all day long all year long.'

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com