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Despite storms, crews remain on schedule for completion by Spring 2010

From the 1940s through the 70s hospitals were built to withstand bombs that we feared our enemies would drop on our cities. Likewise, today's hospitals are built to be shelters against the storm.

Orlando's new Medical City at Lake Nona is coming along at a steady pace as foundations are poured and walls are raised, but how are the hurricanes affecting the work? Tropical Storm Fay blew through not long ago and destroyed many long-standing buildings along the coast and left flooding throughout the area. The effects of several other storms have been felt in central Florida, yet even with this challenge, the crews who work construction on the new University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine building don't fear.

"Our buildings are being built to withstand hurricane force winds," said Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, a spokeswoman for UCF. "As to the construction crews, they monitor the weather closely and tie everything down when the storms come."

Maher Chatila, the UCF construction manager for the College of Medicine site, explained that part of the job is to be ready for these storms before they happen. He noted that contracts include a schedule for time to deal with the hurricanes and their aftermath. So even after two tropical storms and Hurricane Hanna, the facilities are still on schedule for completion in Spring 2010.

"God forbid a hurricane were to wipe out the site, but we have a backup plan" Kotala said. She went on to clarify that in the event the College of Medicine building isn't ready or if there was some catastrophe, the school has another building on the main campus. Kotala noted UCF has a backup building refurbished, remodeled and ready to handle the first class of students should it be needed. She nor Chatila feel the backup building will be used, since the planning and forethought put into the construction has yet to fail or take the project off schedule.

"We've been following the weather and manual closely," Chatila stated. The manual is the UCF's "Construction Site Hurricane Preparedness Plan." There are extensive checklists within the manual that the construction crew must perform at different intervals before and after a storm. These lists are to make sure the crews don't leave any loose items that could be picked up by the gusts, and the crane secured so it doesn't swing in the wind.

"Depending on our stage of construction, we have different approaches to handling the incoming storm," Chatila noted. Though, in the end, he said it usually always comes down to the same thing; secure the site before the storm and pick up the mess afterward.

All of the precautions and all of the preplanning are part of why it's so expensive to build in Florida. That and the massive material expenses associated with building a hurricane resistant facility.

Many of theses tall, broadsided buildings on the flat Floridian fields, gather the wind like sails in a storm. Because of this, the structures must be reinforced to resist strong winds or risk heavy damage.

The standard of resistance varies by county. In Orange County, the buildings must resist up to 110 mile-per-hour winds. Beachside Dade County, on the other hand, requires buildings to resist up to 140 mile-per-hour winds.

"Not everyone would need to design their building to resist the highest level of winds," Chatila explained, "It would be very expensive to do so. The farther inland you are, the lower the standard. That's why the closer you are to the seaside, the more expensive the cost per square foot."

Another expensive aspect of the construction is due to UCF being dedicated to constructing only "green" buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council (GBC) is an independent organization that sets standards for different levels of "green" certification through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Green Building Rating System. Beyond a simple certification, the system rates a building at levels of silver, gold, or platinum. Each level is more expensive to achieve than the next, but the GBC says the environmental responsibility and efficiency are worth the cost.

"The University has dedicated itself to achieving the 'Silver' level of certification with the Green Building Council," Chatila explained. "They're trying to reach this level with all their new buildings on and off campus."

Chatila, as part of his position as a UCF construction manager, is an LEED Accredited Professional.

Thanks to the state and local government, as well as private investors, the Orlando community will soon see one of the most advanced medical centers in the world.

With over $53 million for the College of Medicine's construction budget alone, and millions more budgeted for other components of the Lake Nona site, hopes are that the state-of-the-art facilities will attract the best of the medical, biological and research fields.

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