A lot of progress has been taking place at the University of Notre Dame. Larson-Danielson Construction Company recently held a contractor appreciation celebration to honor the work its team has done in building new dorms for the men.
Darin Meyer, concrete division manager of Larson-Danielson, has served as a leading figure for this project. He mentions how smoothly everything has come together having a great team approach between owner, contractor and design.
“Everybody here works hard, and it’s nice to show a little appreciation for it,” Meyer said. “We still have a little bit of work to do above the mechanical attic, but we have topped out both the north and south wing.”
While Larson-Danielson has partnered with Notre Dame in the past, this is the first extensive project between the parties since the COVID-19 pandemic. Larson-Danielson has also done construction work for Johnson Hall, Baumer Hall and Alumni Hall at Notre Dame.
“We did the concrete work for Johnson Hall about four years ago,” Meyer said. “There’s a lot of similarities, but one noticeable difference will be the chapel design on this dorm. The spire at the top is going to have a distinct decoration from many of the other buildings.”
Clarence Gehrke, general superintendent at Larson-Danielson, says that there will be some unique design approaches to accompany the different aesthetic.
“There’s going to be a walkthrough in the middle of the dorm so that students don’t have to go around the building to get places,” Gehrke said. “Mackey Mitchell Architects helped us by putting a great design together for the project, so they deserve a lot of credit as well.”
The project was originally looking toward a later deadline. However, Nick Larson, vice president of Larson-Danielson, says that they have been able to keep things moving quickly following a mild winter.
“It’s been great to be ahead of schedule on where we intended to be at this point,” Larson said. “A lot of coordination and staying in touch consistently with Notre Dame in this process has also been effective.”
Tony Polotto, senior director of construction at the University of Notre Dame, has a great deal of appreciation for working with Larson-Danielson. He tries to provide its team with whatever it needs to complete the project.
“We have a master plan for the dorms, so we know what’s necessary to have,” Polotto said. “We have plenty of new and improved amenities lined up to allow the students to stay within their community and build relationships. The biggest thing is generating ways to make the students happy and give them a great residential experience.”
Safety has been the biggest priority for this project. According to Polotto, there have been more than 70,000 work hours collectively on the job without a single injury. Everyone has schedules to commit to, and it’s led to a successful job overall.
Both parties are excited for the fall semester of 2024, when students will start moving into these dorms.
For more information, you can check out Larson-Danielson Construction Company's website at https://www.ldconstruction.com/.
For more information on the University of Notre Dame, visit their website at https://www.nd.edu/.