9/9/08: The cement floor was poured today. See the pictures on the construction
photo page.
8/12/08 Curlers: Have you been by the construction site recently? The roof is being
installed over the ice house. The final roof on the clubhouse should be done soon.
The brick is up all around the building and the metal sheet will follow. Once the roof
and siding are in place, we are no longer at the mercy of Mother Nature.
The Ice installer is scheduled to start putting in the floor in the ice house during the
week of August 18th.
We are on schedule for Ice starting in the first week of November! Last year at this
time, would you have believed it!!
7/18/08: Next week would be a good time to check out our new club.
The footings are poured, the foundation bricks are laid and the steel for the metal
building is in route. The steel will arrive over the weekend and erection will begin next
week! Very exciting!!
7/7/08: Curlers: here is another update on the building construction schedule. The
building slab should be poured late next week. The steel is now scheduled for delivery
on 7/21.
At the current pace the building is scheduled for complete operation by October 29th.
7/1/08: Foundations for the building footings were poured last week. So the building
footprint is taking shape. The metal building is on order and is scheduled for delivery
by July 18th. Once that arrives the shell will go up quickly. Dow Styrofoam donation
has been approved and is ready for delivery to the contractor.
6/26/08: Chris Tointon reports: "Update – we have foundations!!! They started
pouring this week and you can now see the footprint of the building…it is very exciting.
I hope to have a updated calendar soon."
6/16/08: Site preparation has begun and utilities have been run to the site of the new
club. The project schedule is currently running behind due to delays in obtaining the
steel for the new pre-engineered building.
4/14/08: A ground breaking ceremony took place on Wednesday,
April 30th at 11:30 a.m. at the MIdland Community Center parking lot.
2/27/08: The City Planning Commission approved the curling club's site plan at it's
2/26th meeting. Ground breaking is estimated to occur at the beginning of May with
completion in October. We have reached 96% of our initial fundraising goal (see below)
but we still need your donations.
Announcement: In an announcement made October 23, 2007 Chris Tointon, CEO of
the Greater Midland Community Centers, Inc. stated "We are very excited to bring the
community of Midland an amazing campus with a new curling center, ... Construction
will start in Spring of 2008! More information will follow as it pertains to groundbreaking
and celebrations."
Facility: A new four sheet curling rink, complete with locker rooms and club house, is
being planned. A building committee headed by S. Dicken has been formed to work on
the details.
photo page.
8/12/08 Curlers: Have you been by the construction site recently? The roof is being
installed over the ice house. The final roof on the clubhouse should be done soon.
The brick is up all around the building and the metal sheet will follow. Once the roof
and siding are in place, we are no longer at the mercy of Mother Nature.
The Ice installer is scheduled to start putting in the floor in the ice house during the
week of August 18th.
We are on schedule for Ice starting in the first week of November! Last year at this
time, would you have believed it!!
7/18/08: Next week would be a good time to check out our new club.
The footings are poured, the foundation bricks are laid and the steel for the metal
building is in route. The steel will arrive over the weekend and erection will begin next
week! Very exciting!!
7/7/08: Curlers: here is another update on the building construction schedule. The
building slab should be poured late next week. The steel is now scheduled for delivery
on 7/21.
At the current pace the building is scheduled for complete operation by October 29th.
7/1/08: Foundations for the building footings were poured last week. So the building
footprint is taking shape. The metal building is on order and is scheduled for delivery
by July 18th. Once that arrives the shell will go up quickly. Dow Styrofoam donation
has been approved and is ready for delivery to the contractor.
6/26/08: Chris Tointon reports: "Update – we have foundations!!! They started
pouring this week and you can now see the footprint of the building…it is very exciting.
I hope to have a updated calendar soon."
6/16/08: Site preparation has begun and utilities have been run to the site of the new
club. The project schedule is currently running behind due to delays in obtaining the
steel for the new pre-engineered building.
4/14/08: A ground breaking ceremony took place on Wednesday,
April 30th at 11:30 a.m. at the MIdland Community Center parking lot.
2/27/08: The City Planning Commission approved the curling club's site plan at it's
2/26th meeting. Ground breaking is estimated to occur at the beginning of May with
completion in October. We have reached 96% of our initial fundraising goal (see below)
but we still need your donations.
Announcement: In an announcement made October 23, 2007 Chris Tointon, CEO of
the Greater Midland Community Centers, Inc. stated "We are very excited to bring the
community of Midland an amazing campus with a new curling center, ... Construction
will start in Spring of 2008! More information will follow as it pertains to groundbreaking
and celebrations."
Facility: A new four sheet curling rink, complete with locker rooms and club house, is
being planned. A building committee headed by S. Dicken has been formed to work on
the details.
9/18/08: What seemed impossible only a year ago is now about to become a reality.
Our new curling center is coming along nicely. The ice surface is now complete. The
contractor ("Rink Ice") took great pains to make the ice surface as level as possible.
We expect this to be a significant improvement over our old ice. The concrete has to
cure for 10 days, so no work will happen over the ice area until the 19th. Lights, and
the heating and de-humidifying ducts, need to be installed over the ice.
The compressor at the old club has been disconnected, the old pump (along with a new
one) to circulate the cooling media has been relocated. Dow is donating Dowtherm
SR-1 as the new cooling media versus the brine at the old club.
The drywall is complete in the club house. Kitchen cabinets are in. The bathroom and
change rooms are being tiled. The bathroom fixtures go in this week. The glass is also
being installed this week and it is going to look spectacular. This is a huge viewing
improvement over our old club. Also installed over the glass are power, mounting and
conduits for camera's over the far end house. We don't know if there is enough money
to cover these yet, but it seemed appropriate to get the ability built into the design.
Some of the kitchen fixtures are also being purchased this week. And the first coat of
paint is on the change rooms.
There is still a lot of work to do, such as the HVAC system, set the compressor, ceiling
in the club house, heating and lights in the ice shed. However, the first of November is
when the contractor is saying we will have ice. Just around the corner!
Our new curling center is coming along nicely. The ice surface is now complete. The
contractor ("Rink Ice") took great pains to make the ice surface as level as possible.
We expect this to be a significant improvement over our old ice. The concrete has to
cure for 10 days, so no work will happen over the ice area until the 19th. Lights, and
the heating and de-humidifying ducts, need to be installed over the ice.
The compressor at the old club has been disconnected, the old pump (along with a new
one) to circulate the cooling media has been relocated. Dow is donating Dowtherm
SR-1 as the new cooling media versus the brine at the old club.
The drywall is complete in the club house. Kitchen cabinets are in. The bathroom and
change rooms are being tiled. The bathroom fixtures go in this week. The glass is also
being installed this week and it is going to look spectacular. This is a huge viewing
improvement over our old club. Also installed over the glass are power, mounting and
conduits for camera's over the far end house. We don't know if there is enough money
to cover these yet, but it seemed appropriate to get the ability built into the design.
Some of the kitchen fixtures are also being purchased this week. And the first coat of
paint is on the change rooms.
There is still a lot of work to do, such as the HVAC system, set the compressor, ceiling
in the club house, heating and lights in the ice shed. However, the first of November is
when the contractor is saying we will have ice. Just around the corner!
2009 Jefferson Avenue., Midland, MI 48640 Phone: 989-832-7937 Ext: 2295
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
10/6/08: If you have been by the curling center recently, you have seen that it is
looking spectacular from the outside. Outside work is near complete. There is still
much work left to do inside, but projections are it will be ready on time for the first
week of November.
The windows are in between the clubhouse and the ice. The view looks great. A
continuous pain of glass across the entire length of the clubhouse. The bathrooms
and change rooms are nearing completion. They are tile floored with exists to both
the ice and into the clubhouse.
The ice house has been painted all white above the brick. Work is progressing to
install the HVAC system throughout the building. Cameras are being installed with
monitors to view the far end house.
New tables and chairs have been purchased. So have kitchen appliances. Kitchen
counters are in and the first coats of paint have been applied in the clubhouse.
The HVAC system is probably the largest item left to complete. Currently the ice
contractor is scheduled to help the community center get the ice compressor system
ready for start up.
Regards, Rick
October 10, 2008:
The curling season is just around the corner and I bet you are still asking yourself, "Will
read that correctly, YES!
Now I will temper my enthusiasm with one caveat. I believe the construction of the
facility will be complete to start the curling season within the first two weeks of
November. The only question will be how quickly can we shake out any issues with the
ice cooling system, get ice made and get the targets etc in the ice. Tentative date to
start up the cooling system is October 22nd.
If you have gone by the facility this week you will notice one huge symbolic step from
the outside. On two sides of the building in foot high letters are the words. "Midland
Curling Center". Very cool!
As for the construction. The mechanical house is near completion. All the major
equipment is in place. The compressors, the heating system and the HVAC system. All
the lights are in the ice house, but they need a little adjustment. The ice house is all
painted white above the brick. It looks great, no duct tape or hanging insulation. There
is some minor ducting left to do for the heating system. Other than that, out on the ice
the only construction work is small items like putting up exit signs. The old scoreboards
have been refurbished (thanks Ken Burdett) and will be relocated in the next couple of
weeks.
As for the clubhouse. The walls are nearly complete. Only some minor painting left to
go. The ceiling is about 90% complete. It has a very nice step up in height from the
back toward the ice. Great view. Electrical is near done. Today the counter tops were
going in for the kitchen. They look great! The same parttern will be used as a ledge
on both sides of the base for the glass going out to the ice. This will look very sharp!
Tile in the entry way and into the change rooms is complete. Next week the carpet
goes in.
The bathroom sinks were also being installed today. The rest of the bathroom and
change area is near complete, with a few final items to finish.
We still are not quite sure where we will land on the budget, it is close. However, it was
felt to be close enough that there are a couple of significant extra features in our new
club. The old furniture is not coming over to the new club. All new furniture has been
purchased. And to enhance viewing, cameras have been mounted over the far end
house and 32 inch flat screen monitors are being installed above the glass. You will be
able to see this clear from the back of the clubhouse. We are keeping our fingers
crossed in hopes the budget will allow a nipper to be purchased. Order details have
been determined, Chris Tointon is just waiting to see how the costs come in as the
project finishes up.
What was a dream two years ago and a hope a year ago is now about to be a reality.
Keep checking our web page for exact open house and league start dates.
And I leave you with -- Curl Well!
Rick