Center Renovation Update

April 21, 2014

Construction is moving—and moving around. The project’s contractor is coming up with ways to complete some work earlier than anticipated and we are all cooperating to manage operational challenges.

The biggest challenge of the moment is managing the impacts while stone tiles are replaced with terrazzo on all of the corridor floors. Meeting rooms and offices on a floor have to be vacated while that floor’s corridor is being re-surfaced. The number of available meeting rooms in the building is reduced and staff gets relocated to temporary office space that has been set up in room 212. The third floor corridor is being done in April, the second floor in May, and the first floor corridor and lobby in June. Corridor work also necessitates removing bulletin boards and vending machines. We are working closely with groups that have to relocate and meet at other venues during this process, and we greatly appreciate their patience and understanding.

Transforming the Kaplan Assembly Hall (room 101) is taking longer than expected; that room will go back in service in late May. Meanwhile, all the building supplies and equipment have been ordered for renovating the Lerner Auditorium on the third floor, so that work will be more easily and quickly completed once it starts in June.

As always, your patience and support is appreciated.

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March 24, 2014

Progress and challenges are in store during the next months of construction.

In April, the Kaplan Assembly Hall, Room 110 and the catering kitchen will go back into service, transformed. At that point, attention will turn to the Lerner Auditorium on the third floor. Meanwhile, Rooms 210 and 310 have been renovated ahead of schedule, joining rooms 212, 312 and 412 in the “completed” category. The David Bohnett CyberCenter has moved into room 210 until its new home in the expanded lobby is completed. The east end of the lobby will be opened up with new steel beams and columns, matching the work already done at the west end.

The most challenging work will involve closing the third floor and then the second floor so that stone tiles in the corridors can be replaced with terrazzo. This will be messy and noisy at times.

Moreover, meeting rooms and offices will go in and out of service. Groups and staff will be relocated and The Center will not be able to accommodate some groups for a while. Those groups will receive advance notice and assistance in identifying temporary alternative meeting spaces.

As we encounter serious inconveniences, we appreciate everyone taking construction in stride with good will and good humor. Check back for updates.

• The lobby will be expanded and refurbished to create a more welcoming and user-friendly space, featuring a café, a revamped David Bohnett Cyber Center and new front doors.
• The Center's largest meeting spaces—the third-floor Lerner Auditorium and the ground-floor Kaplan Assembly Hall—will be renovated and outfitted with modernized audio/visual equipment, lighting and other capabilities, making them ideal for hosting special events.
• The elevator cab and controls will be upgraded.

• Our hidden garden will be repaved and feature seating and lighting to encourage conversation and connection, while a new street-facing gate will invite visitors.
• Public corridors and meeting rooms will be updated with new floors and lighting, and additional public meeting rooms will be added to the inventory of available space.
• The library will be relocated and updated, and house the Center archive.

Donate today to support the renovation!

A project of this magnitude impacts operations in big and small ways. Auditorium spaces will be unavailable for periods of time, other meeting rooms and offices will be inaccessible intermittently and the garden area will be closed. The main entrance will shift in response to lobby construction. Overall the disruptions will be temporary and the end result will be outstanding. Center staff will keep the community apprised of planning and progress by posting regular updates on this page.

Chair

• Mario Palumbo

Co-Chairs

• Tim Chow
• Julie Harris
• Keith Jacobson

For questions about meeting reservations or room changes, please email: meetingspace@gaycenter.org.

For information on supporting the project and major naming recognition, please contact Jeffrey Klein, Chief Development Officer at jklein@gaycenter.org.

For more information on construction and building operations, please contact Rob Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer, at rob@gaycenter.org.

For press inquiries, please contact Mary Steyer, Director of Communications, at msteyer@gaycenter.org.