https://youtu.be/zX_kbwdR1lY

Please excuse the video’s narrow orientation, but this clip published on the School of Communications’ Snapchat account (eloncom) is worth watching. The 72-second video highlights the ongoing renovations in McEwen Communications Building as of June 6. As you will see, construction crews have been quite busy since Commencement weekend. We can’t wait to see what the remodeled facilities look like come late August!

Thanks to these photographs taken by Dean Paul Parsons on May 20, here’s a look at the exterior progress of Snow Family Grand Atrium (left) and Dwight C. Schar Hall (right). Keen observers will notice a segment of concrete has been poured for the outdoor plaza leading toward the atrium. Construction crews also reopened a closed portion of the sidewalk on Williamson Avenue. This was exciting news to everyone who travels along that path, something we noted on the School of Communications’ Instagram account – obligatory plug.

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With the ongoing construction of Schar Hall and Steers Pavilion, it could be easy to overlook the significant changes planned this summer for McEwen Communications Building. Immediately after graduation, the entire building – including Studio A and B – will be vacated for an extensive renovation project. (Teardown of the studios actually began in late April.) The major remodeling effort will provide new offices for The Pendulum/Elon Local News, ESTV, WSOE Radio and the Phi Psi Cli yearbook, as well as an Internships/Career Services Center. Additionally, the studios will receive a complete overhaul.

As part of their renovation planning, members of the construction project and university facilities personnel toured the building on May 11, detailing the demolition process over the next few weeks.

As Dwight C. Schar Hall has progressed over the past few months with the installation of drywall, windows and brickwork, Steers Pavilion remained mostly a simple steel frame – until this morning. Crew members began installing the exterior framing to the new facility, beginning on the wall facing west.

The 7,300-square-foot pavilion, which sits in front of Whitley Auditorium and between Long Building and Schar Hall, is named in recognition of a gift by Bob and Lauren Steers P’15. It will house the School of Communication’s media analytics lab, four faculty offices and a student-faculty research area. See the blueprint at right for a closer look at the building’s layout.

Despite the several inches of rain we received earlier this week, this update isn’t completely damp. Over the past two weeks or so, the construction crew has been busy installing drywall, shaping offices, classrooms and other educational areas in the facility. Bryan Baker, coordinator of sound and video projects, and Tommy Kopetskie, communications manager, stepped inside the building on May 2 to get a closer look. Be sure to check out these 42 images we captured. But you might need some context, so we created the following slides.

Bricklayers have started working on the exterior of the south side of Schar Hall. This morning, three masons – look closely for the third man’s shadow – could be seen from Lebanon Avenue laying brick outside the future office of Communications Dean Paul Parsons. As you can see, this photo was taken from a safe location outside the construction fence.

A few yards down the road toward Williamson Avenue, the bricks have already eclipsed the tops of the windows outside Live Oak Communications’ new office space.

Dean Parsons (left) and Provost House stand in the grand atrium looking toward downtown Elon.

There’s just something about people in business attire donning hard hats and neon safety vests that makes you smile! At the conclusion of our National Advisory Board meeting on April 8, Communications Dean Paul Parsons and Associate Dean Kenn Gaither led nine board members on a hard hat tour of Dwight C. Schar Hall and the Snow Family Grand Atrium. To get your own inside look at the progress, check out our Flickr photo gallery.

Later that afternoon, Dean Parsons oversaw a second tour group consisting of School of Communications faculty members, including Associate Professors Rich Landesberg and Vic Costello and Assistant Professor Gerald Gibson, and Elon University Provost Steven House. The provost must know a thing or two about construction sites – he was the only person to bring his own hard hat!

Two weeks ago, a mysterious wall appeared outside of McEwen Communications Building, just a few steps away from Snow Family Grand Atrium. It’s safe to say the single wall, with its tiny window and concrete foundation, puzzled the many former journalists who walked by it everyday. One group even hypothesized about its purpose while standing in their gowns following the university’s spring convocation. Associate Professor Rich Landesberg shared his guess on Twitter.

During the Department of Communications’ April 5 faculty and staff meeting, Communications Dean Paul Parsons shed some light on the wall and its purpose. The dean explained that he was informed during a meeting with the contractor that sample walls are a standard process for large scale projects. It’s an opportunity for bricklayers to “demonstrate their craftsmanship,” explained Dean Parsons.

Thanks to the dean’s explanation, the speculation and rumors about the wall will likely cease. Sorry to those hoping for a drive-thru Starbucks window!

An April 6 sunrise illuminates the mysterious wall outside of McEwen Communications Building.

To make way for the new plaza that will connect campus to downtown Elon, crews started removing a section of brick wall on April 4. It was a deliberate process as only a 50-foot section was to be removed. The above image was taken Monday afternoon, while standing on Williamson Avenue looking south.

On April 5, just over 24 hours later, the section of wall was largely cleared out – see photos below. In addition to removing a portion of sidewalk, a street lamp was also taken down.

The bricks from the wall – which dates back to 1925 – are expected to be repurposed in the new plaza.