Family Expansion Newsletter Vol. 2 - February 29, 2020
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Leaping With Excitement
With an extra day in February this year we are "leaping forward" with our expansion plans.
Our Family Center expansion construction project is fully underway. We greatly appreciate your flexibility and patience as we undertake such a significant project, including adjustments to parking and traffic flow, intermittent noise in our building, and temporary relocation of programming as needed. Our management team is committed to partnering with our construction team to minimize disruptions to our members in the months ahead.
Read on to learn more about our construction progress to date and the “
concrete”
steps we are taking to advance the work!
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A Strong Foundation: Let's Pour Some Concrete!
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We have concluded the excavation and soil movement phase of our construction and are ready to begin the concrete/masonry walls/pool structure phase!
Fun Concrete Facts:
- Our concrete subcontractor will use a pre-engineered Doka Frami form system and a Schwing truck with a mounted concrete pump.
- The concrete floor slabs will be finished with both ride-on and walk behind powered trowel machines.
- There will be 1,700 CY (cubic yards) of concrete in the total project, which is almost 4 times the volume of our existing swimming pool!
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The expansion general timeline graphic above is accurate as of 2/27/20 and is subject to change. Updates will be provided as needed.
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Team Spotlight: Building with Blanchard
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Field Superintendent John "Sarge" Schneider
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John "Sarge" Schneider - Field Superintendent
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It was one of those bitter cold days when a snow squall appeared from nowhere when John "Sarge" Schneider sat down in the surprisingly cozy trailer office to discuss the status of soil nailing and the next steps of our Family Center Expansion construction.
As Wm. Blanchard Company Field Superintendent, Sarge is responsible for the coordination of trade workers and subcontractors associated with the Family Center Expansion project. For most of January and February there were upwards of ten people working on excavation and soil nailing. Sarge is now preparing for the next step: Concrete!
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With 40 years of experience in the business, Sarge is no stranger when it comes to the construction process. He began his career as a carpenter honing his skills as a residential wood framer as a member of the Carpenters Union Local No 620 located right here in Madison, New Jersey. Today he counts several high-profile builds in his portfolio including Class A office space fit-outs for Fortune 500 companies, all construction aspects of the Goldman Sachs Tower in Jersey City (At the time it was the tallest building in New Jersey.), a 250,000 sq. ft. addition to St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ, and work on the Carol G. Simon Center at Morristown Hospital.
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When asked what was unique about our project, Sarge responded "The depth of the new pool needs to match the depth of the existing pool. As a result, excavation has to be very deep. We're looking at a 25 ft. deep excavation at the location of the new pool. We are also building against an existing structure. This explains the need for a detailed soil nailing process that we just completed."
Sarge continued, "Our next steps are to perform fine grading on the site. We are starting at the portion of the building closest to the Kings Street side and we'll work our way to the deeper side with the pool. Then you'll start to see the concrete work."
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Wm. Blanchard Co. Field Superintendent John Schneider "Sarge" and Madison Area YMCA Project Manager Lauren Martin.
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And we had to ask... where did the nickname "Sarge" originate? Sarge is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps!
With all of these varied construction projects under his belt, we are proud to have Sarge and Wm. Blanchard Co. oversee our Family Center Expansion project.
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Let's take a look at the history of the Madison Area YMCA, brought to us from Capital
Expansion Steering Committee Chair and Board of Directors Secretary
Art Powell. Art joined our Board of Directors in 1999, and was a leader of our Plan 2000 - Building For the Future expansion project and "Buy a Brick Drive".
John T. Cunningham, author of "On the Right Track", a history of the Madison Area YMCA, described "Madison in the 1870s [as] a bustling, if small community that owed its prosperity to the Lackawanna Railroad that threaded through town...It was the age of the horse, which supplied power for wagons, delivery vans, and carriages parked in Waverly place."
The ground that is now home to the Madison Area YMCA on Kings Road, began as a railroad freight station (the building on the map in pink). Components from the freight station (pictured) were used to build the anchor piece of the Madison Area YMCA in 1962 as a note to the building's history, and was torn down in Plan 2000. Our current structure incorporates arched windows in the fitness area as a nod to the history of the freight station and the site.
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A map from 1910 where the Madison Area YMCA is today.
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William "Bill" A. Arthur, the director of the Madison Y in 1955 stands below the old freight station. (This is the building in pink depicted in the map above.)
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There's Never Been A Better Time to Build a Better US!
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Capital Campaign Update
The Madison Area YMCA Our Community Our Future Campaign is an opportunity to make a difference in the life of your family, and the community as a whole now and for years to come. Together, we can leave a legacy for future generations, just as community members of the past made our current facility possible. Please join us in supporting this important community project.
We are happy to report we have received more than
$7.5 million in community giving in support of the Family Center Expansion Project to date. Thank you to our many generous donors!
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Paving the Way
Honor your family, friends or consider donating in memory of someone special. Support Our Capital Campaign to Expand the Madison Area YMCA by purchasing a paver (or pavers) at $250 each. All paver donations are tax deductible.
The pavers will be used to create the sidewalk to the second entrance to the Madison Area YMCA’s Family Center. Visit us in the lobby on Wednesdays to purchase your paver in person and learn more!
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Please send any questions or ideas related to the Family Center Expansion newsletter to
[email protected]. We would love to hear from you!
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*This information is accurate as of 2/27/20 and is subject to change. Updates will be provided as needed.
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TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD A BETTER US
Recognizing the needs of our members and neighbors, and the challenges and limitations of our current facility, the Madison Area YMCA has launched a community fundraising campaign to expand our Y and to continue our mission of providing financial assistance to those who need us. With your help, we will provide additional services to encourage a healthy and active community. Together, we will connect neighbors and families, strengthening the social bonds that promote understanding. Through your generosity, the YMCA mission will reach more people in our community, making sure we can say “yes” today and in the future. For more information about
financial assistance
or to make a
tax-deductible donation
,
please call 973-822-YMCA (9622) or visit us at
madisonareaymca.org
.
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MADISON AREA YMCA
madisonareaymca.org
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