A Good Way to Spend a Week

When you think about the advantages that come from system-built construction, the obvious first thought is speed. Compared to stick-built alternatives, the system-built approach accomplishes the same work in a fraction of the time needed to build from scratch on the site.

Speed’s important, but it’s far from the only advantage with modular construction. That’s illustrated nicely by one of our recent projects, the Dayton Condominiums, a 45-module residential project in Morgantown, W.Va. That 20,600 sq. ft. complex went up in just under one week this summer. And the people we partnered with on this one say that, from their point of view, engineering moxie counted for just as much.

Three years in the planning, the project was prepped with demolition of the previous site structures in the fall of 2007 and excavation/foundation placement in late February and early March of this year. The buildings were ordered in April and factory-built in time for the week-long setting process in June.

Just to share some vital statistics: The project included 21 dwelling units, assembled in three-story configuration above a site-built parking garage and retail stores. Overall, the condominiums feature 39 bedrooms. Employing wood-frame 5A construction, the system-built units are fire-sprinklered and factory-equipped with an EPDM roof.

Specially angled modular units were built to accommodate architects’ design requirements and site conditions. Setting began on Monday, June 9 and wrapped up by Friday, June 13.

It’s impossible to minimize the impact of prompt delivery and quick setting to the developers and owners of the project, The Phoenix Group of Morgantown. As the home of West Virginia University, Morgantown sees a constantly growing demand for multi-unit housing. Quick installation turnaround meant that the project would be available for occupancy by the fall term.

But Phoenix Group President Mike Castle says speed was only one positive aspect of the project. I’ll quote him: “Deluxe had the production capacity for this project. They helped to reduce our risk exposure – crane risk, setting risk, and so on.

“What mattered most from a developer’s perspective was their engineering capability. They really have the multi-family gig down. Our site manager was impressed with the quality of the plans they delivered – you really don’t get that degree of engineering foresight from lot of others. There’s a Deluxe way of doing things, a culture that says, ‘We want to control the process.’ ”

It’s almost enough to make us blush. There’s no question that engineering prowess translates as serious advantages to the developer and owner. It makes a difference in limiting problems and complications on the construction site. It results in a better, more lasting finished structure. And yes, it also contributes in a big way to the essential speed with which the project gets done.

That old college try: enticing students to the school – and keeping them there

I’ll never forget the dorm room my sister moved into when she was a freshman at Bloomsburg University. To put it kindly, this room wasn’t much. It was better than a prison cell, but nothing like what she was used to at home. I didn’t have the heart to say it, but the thought in my head was something like, “You’re going to live here?”

Back then, on-campus housing for underclassmen was weak at many colleges and universities: often cramped, cheaply built, poorly maintained, hard to keep clean, and totally lacking in privacy. Many students couldn’t wait to move to apartments downtown.

Fortunately, things have changed. Students and families today aren’t satisfied with housing that’s just this side of adequate. The schools themselves understand that better dormitories are now a major selling point. It’s a legitimate marketing advantage that helps them get selected by the outstanding candidates they court.

Systems-built construction can deliver amenities that the older structures – whether modular or stick-built – seldom had. More requests come our way for bigger and better rooms and we respond to that. Kitchens are included: that’s handy for the students and appealing for their families because it helps keep a rein on meal costs. The bathrooms in almost all of the dormitories we build are integrated with the room suites. And anybody would prefer that to using gang toilets and showers for a whole floor.

We’re versatile, with the capability of going up to 12 stories high and incorporating varied architectural treatments that blend well with existing campus environments. And non-combustible construction means that parents must no longer be concerned about their students living in substandard off-campus quarters.

The system-built method slashes waste and labor hours on-site. Projects using DeLuxe apartment-style dormitories are finished in far less time than comparable conventional jobs. When we build dormitories in the factory, we control labor, materials acquisition, and security in ways that are not possible in stick-built construction. With a construction cycle that’s much, much shorter – weeks as opposed to years, often – the noise and disruption on campus are held to a minimum, and contractor teams are present for only a short time.

Having dormitories that students want to live in helps motivate the initial college decision – and also helps keep upperclassmen in the dorms. Colleges and universities want to capture revenue that they’d otherwise be losing when students rent apartments off campus. When they provide a true apartment-style dormitory setting, the institutions persuade many of their upperclassmen not to move away.

All in all, many colleges and universities are recognizing that it’s not just what they wind up with, but also how they get there. As DeLuxe builds them, apartment-style dorms are excellent structures that fit perfectly into the campus environment. If you can save both time and money getting them there, it’s a pretty easy choice for the school to make. If my sister could see the luxurious apartments students are living in now, I'm sure she'd be jealous.