App State hosted a grand opening ceremony for the Holmes Drive Parking Deck on Thursday to celebrate the completion of construction.
The ceremony began with remarks by Interim Chancellor Heather Norris, President of New Atlantic Contracting John Morrison and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs JJ Brown. Approximately 40 people attended.
In her speech, Norris thanked everyone involved in the project and said the parking deck will reduce the need for more available and accessible parking on campus.
“Just over 14 months ago, John’s team began construction on this much-needed parking facility,” Norris said. “We will be cutting the ribbon to officially open the Holmes Drive parking deck. I have to say, and I’m sure you’ll agree, it is one of the most attractive parking decks I have ever seen.”
The six-story, 600-space parking deck, designed and built by New Atlantic Contracting of Winston-Salem, replaced the former Holmes parking lot. The parking deck provides 460 additional spaces for daily parking for faculty, staff and students, as well as for event-goers heading to the Holmes Convocation Center, which is connected to the second floor of the parking deck via an enclosed glass pedestrian bridge.
Norris said that while the construction of the deck was self-financing, meaning the university used its own resources, the state legislature’s requirements were critical to the project’s success.
In his address, Morrison praised App State’s construction management program and recognized the work of Dylan Reed, an App State graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree in construction science in May. Reed joined New Atlantic Contracting as an intern in October and supported the project on site until its completion.
“The building became like an extension of the classroom for him,” Morrison said.
New Atlantic Contracting hired Reed full-time in June.
Reed said his duties included studying drawings and coordinating with subcontractors, and he reflected on the challenges of the project, including bad weather and the size of the site.
“We had a 300-ton crane shoved into a 40-by-40-foot crane runway and tractor-trailers full of concrete,” Reed said. “It was a very, very tight space, but we got it done.”
Morrison also recognized junior construction management students James Poe and Caden Young, who both interned with New Atlantic Contracting over the summer and will intern again next summer.
After her speech, Norris invited everyone involved in the project to stand behind her as she cut the ribbon.
