Senior Center crews work to finish in time for Dec. 7 opening

Plans for Landmark Corporation to complete its part of the new Senior Center project have been delayed, but Jonesborough Town Administrator Bob Browning says town officials are still committed to the Dec.7 opening date.
“We’re planning on opening Dec. 7,” Browning said. He admitted, however, that there was a still quite a bit to be done before the center receives its certificate of occupancy and is turned over the town.
“Obviously, it’s still in progress,” he said. “The weather has slowed some things down on the outside.”
Landmark had originally set Nov. 20 for their completion of their portion of the project – a project that has included the town’s participation to bring it in within budget constraints.
As part of that “value-engineering,” the town is responsible for the majority of the new center’s lower level interior finishes, as well as outside landscaping and paving.
Landmark took over the project from original contractor Rainey Contracting after that contractor was terminated in late August.
“Landmark has done a great job,” Browning said. “They’re making a tremendous amount of progress.”
Still, there have been some delays.
Main floor exterior doors were still being installed Monday, and Browning said the State Fire Marshal had been by to inspect the building.
All went well, but the inspection could not be completed until the doors were in place. He will return Dec. 3, at which point Browning is confident the certificate of occupancy will be issued. Keller Glass is currently finishing up the installation of the main floor exterior doors.
The main floor is also waiting on the completion of the kitchen HVAC system before ceiling tiles can be laid, and the oven hood and appliances put in place.
“The outside won’t likely finish this week, but should be pretty close to being complete by Dec. 4, if the weather holds up,” Browning said. “They worked this weekend and are totally done on the front of the building on the parking lot side. The final coat on the parking lot is scheduled for Monday (Nov. 30) and there is still some sidewalk work to do.”
On the center’s lower level, more work is waiting, and it may or may not be included in the Dec. 7 opening. That’s still up in the air, as far as scheduling is concerned, Browning said, though town staff remain hopeful.
“There is still a lot of work downstairs and it’s sequential stuff,” Browning said. If the lower level is not complete, staff are confident it will be close to completion.
“The bottom line is, we’re planning on opening at least the top floor,” he said.
While the delays have the project slightly off track for the first time since Landmark took over the project, Browning remains pleased with its progress.
“They are uncrating furniture and putting it all in place,” Browning said. “The dining area is essentially complete. The floors are polished. A lot of the office area is complete.
“It creates a little bit of an issue, but there is no disappointment in terms of how they’ve moved along in those interiors.”