On Tuesday, November 18, the last steel beam will be hoisted into place atop the Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center, completing the building’s structural frame.
The $12.5 million, 17,000-square-foot project is slated to be completed in December 2015. The Sykes Center will have two floors, with medical services occupying the second floor and the Graham House Counseling Center occupying the lower level.
Additionally, the Sykes Center will rely on geothermal energy for heating and cooling. According to Larry Muench, Director of Facilities, the energy will be supplied from 19 500-foot-deep wells. This will be the first geothermal system on campus.
The Sykes Center will feature two “Community Wellness Activity Rooms.”
“These rooms are going to be for all sorts of activities. We’ll have health classes there; we’ll have yoga classes there; we’ll have PACE classes there…we expect to offer all sorts of extra programing because we have these… multi-purpose rooms,” said Carol Israel, Director of Counseling.
Amy Patel, Medical Director, said that the medical services were purposely consolidated on one floor, as opposed to the three floors currently occupied by the Isham Health Center.
“[Having three floors] makes communication difficult. You might start off seeing someone on the first floor, and now you’re seeing a different provider on the second floor. [In the Sykes Center,] there [will be] less travel time… and all the right people who are caring for somebody… will be centralized,” said Patel.
The Sykes Center will feature different spaces for students staying overnight and students who are there for medical examinations. According to Muench, there will be fewer beds in the Sykes Center, but there will still be enough beds to meet the needs of Andover’s campus.
A courtyard is also being built between the Sykes Center, Bulfinch Hall and the Shuman Admission Center.
“Students can congregate there, they can hang out there, and it just gives a nice feel as to how all three buildings work together,” said Muench.
**Fast Facts:**
– $12.5 Million
– 17,000 Square Feet
– Scheduled to be completed in December 2015
– Two floors
– Five counseling rooms
– Six exam rooms
– Six beds in fatigue room (same as currently at Isham)
– Seven inpatient rooms (two private, five semi-private)
– Two community wellness activity rooms
– 19 geothermal wells, each 500 feet deep
