Progress - Construction Update April 2020
Here, our COO Chuck Henn, who has a past in construction management, shows the PAH Team plans of the new downstairs prior to phase 1 of construction.
Its been about a month since we first introduced the campus to our community! A lot has changed in the world since then including our campus. Although we have seen a few setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our campus is still on schedule to open this summer. If you drove past the new location it would seem as though we have not made any progress, fortunately that could not be further from the truth.
4/20 this year is extra special for us. Not only do we get to celebrate again with our great community, as an added bonus, we are able to officially move our management offices to the new building. The campus will remain closed to the public until construction is complete, but this is a huge step for us! Being in the building during construction will allow our team to design and build the best possible space for our community. We cannot wait to share it with everyone!
Construction updates:
The construction process itself is quite complex no matter what you build. The more time and effort spent on the front end of the project planning, and designing the spaces and systems that accompany them, the better your project will be. Some of the more complex systems on our campus are the security systems which include video cameras, card readers, fire detection and intrusion prevention. We have completed our plan and design and have signed the contract to get started installing! Safety of our staff patients and community are paramount and we are confident everyone will feel safe and secure at the new campus.
One of my favorite parts of construction is the demolition of old spaces. Not only because it is fun, but also because you are able to see an old outdated space be transformed into something completely new. The existing interior walls of the new dispensary have been removed so the transformation can begin. Along with the demolition of walls, the old floors and ceilings have been removed from the space as well, opening up a once partitioned area to make way for a bright new and open dispensary. There will be more natural light both in the patient waiting room and the dispensary sales floor itself. Installation of new framing and MEP equipment will begin in the coming days/weeks.
One thing I think everyone can agree on (to some degree) is that life may never be exactly the same after this pandemic. As our patients are intimately aware, COVID-19 has significantly altered the way we are able to serve them. With this in mind, we wanted to make sure we captured any changes to regulations that may be permanent with the design of the new building. Trying to extrapolate which temporary measures have staying power and how they fit into our permanent business model is something that we will continue to assess and adjust to as we see fit, but may take a little more time to get right.
In conclusion we are extremely happy with the current progress of the new campus. The next update should be even more encompassing and may even provide a few pictures and a glimpse into our new campus. Thank you to everyone who supports us and we cannot wait to share the new campus with you!
Written by PAH COO Chuck Henn