Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Creighton Hall Renovation

Creighton University will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2028. Prairie Construction has begun work on a significant renovation of the campus’ original building – Creighton Hall – in anticipation of this momentous milestone.

The project involves retrofitting the old building with a modern infrastructure, including updated heating and cooling, water, mechanical, and fire suppression. Creighton Hall’s renovation is part of Creighton’s initiative to achieve more sustainable practices across its campus.

The renovation will also include ADA-accessible restrooms, a new gathering space, and offices and meeting spaces,

This phase of the project involves system upgrades to the south wing of the building. The north wing will be upgraded in a future phase.

The building has undergone many changes over the last 146 years, but this project represents the most significant. This is just one of several projects the Prairie Construction team has completed on the Creighton campus, and we are grateful for the continued partnership with the University. The Prairie Construction team expects to complete this project in 2026.

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Creighton’s Skutt Student Center Ribbon Cutting

After months of construction at the V.J. and Angela Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University, Prairie Construction was proud to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, marketing the official end of the project.

The Skutt Student Center is one of the more popular buildings on campus, so our team needed careful planning and coordination with the University to complete this project in the least intrusive way. We shared an update about this project last Fall shortly after construction began.

Renovations included bathrooms, ballroom, and ground level. Space was reconfigured for new dining vendors, and new seating options were included to make the space more welcoming.

 

The Prairie Construction team was happy to partner with Creighton University on another project. We hope the students enjoy the update space as much as we enjoyed being on campus!

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Creighton Skutt Student Center Renovation

Crieghton University students will soon see significant changes to the Skutt Student Center. Prairie Construction is busy completing a full renovation of the space.

Located at 2600 California Street, the project includes a complete upgrade of the existing student dining hall and commercial kitchens in the Skutt Student Center. New air handling units are being installed, and an expansion of adjacent restrooms to provide ADA access and increased size are also part of the project.

The project began during the summer and will continue through the first semester, with a goal of reopening for the second semester. Prairie Construction has coordinated with Creighton to keep nearby Starbucks and Mutual of Omaha ballroom open throughout the construction of the nearby space.

Prairie is partnering with architects from Leo A Daly on the 22,000 square foot project. We are excited to complete another successful project on the Creighton University campus.

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Company News

Welcome to Omaha, CWS fans!

We are big baseball fans at Prairie Construction – This is one of our favorite times of year in Omaha, and we are so happy to see the series back in full swing this year!

If you are new to Omaha, or you haven’t been back for a few years, things might look a little different to you. There has been a construction boom in Omaha in recent years and Prairie Construction has played a big role in development near the stadium.

If you take a stroll just west of TD America on Cuming St., you’ll see Prairie Construction’s mark throughout Creighton University’s campus, notably the new Facilities Management Building on 18th & Burt St. We’ve also been busy with work in the Medical School and Health Sciences Library on campus as well.

If you head southeast from the stadium, take a trip over the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge to Council Bluffs, IA. It’s a beautiful bridge with a spectacular view of the Missouri River, and it’s fun to be able to say you were in 2 states at the same time – you’ll see the state line marking about halfway across the bridge.

For a little extra fun, make a stop under the pedestrian bridge – yes, that is a giant blue troll! Helping the city transport and install the troll to his new home under the bridge was a fun project for the Prairie Construction team, definitely different from our typical projects.

Enjoy your stay in Omaha, or just your visit downtown, good luck to all the teams, and we hope to see you back in Omaha soon – you never know what will be new by the next time you visit!

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Doors Returned to St. John’s Church

Earlier this Fall, we helped Creighton University remove the front doors of St. John’s Church so they could be restored and repainted. The church located in the center of Creighton’s University’s campus has been welcoming students, faculty, parishioners and visitors since 1881.

Removing and transporting the massive, 5-foot-wide doors was no small feat. Neither was the job of replacing them. After transporting the restored doors back to campus on a flatbed truck, a crane was used to lift the doors back into place where the hinges were replaced and the doors were rehung.

Not every job we do at Prairie Construction is as big as building a new school, constructing a commercial structure, or remodeling an existing building. Our team enjoys the opportunities when we can do something a little different, especially when we can help a long-time partner like Creighton University.

We were happy we could help Creighton return the beautiful doors in time to welcome visitors for the Christmas celebration!

Photos courtesy of Creighton University

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Prairie Participates in a Restoration Project at St. John’s

St. John’s Catholic Church has been welcoming visitors and students on the campus of Creighton University since its dedication in 1881. Thousands of people have passed through the doors of the beautiful church over the decades.

Time and elements have taken a toll on those iconic front doors, and they were in need of restoration. Removing the massive doors is no small project, due to their size and weight.

The Prairie Construction team was called in to help with the job. A crane was used to slowly and carefully remove the 5-foot wide doors and place them on a truck so they could be transported to the painter. After they have been restored and painted, the Prairie Construction crew will bring them back to campus and reinstall them on the front of the church.

This was a fun project, and we look forwarding to the returning the restored doors to their home soon!

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Facilities Management Project at Creighton University

We know a lot goes into deciding on the right contractor for a project, and every time we start a new project, we consider the trust the client has put in our team.

That was especially true as we made plans to start the new Facilities Management Office for the facilities crew at Creighton. We have done several projects on the Creighton campus, and we felt especially honored to be trusted to complete a project for this campus team.

We knew from the beginning that this project had many tight deadlines, but in our experience with previous Creighton projects (LINK), we have found great partners on every project. This project was no exception. Communication was great, everyone was easy to work with and we appreciated the team approach from everyone involved with the project.

The new Facilities Management Office had been housed in the Jelinek building located near 18th St. and Burt St. Plans for the project include office space and equipment, completed through involved four phases, the third of which we just completed at the end of February. The new facility is located at 20th & Izard St. in the former 3E and is part of the northward expansion that Creighton has been undergoing in recent years.

The fourth and final phase is underway and should be completed in the coming weeks. It involves finish carpentry and welding, and the completion of the building and grounds. The new facility is approximately 34,000 square feet.

Prairie Construction takes a great deal of pride to be trusted again for a project on the Creighton University campus. We would like to congratulate the facilities crew on your new space – we are proud to take a role in the university’s continued growth and expansion, and we look forward to more projects on the campus!

 

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Creighton University Rigge Science Building Project

Creighton alum and former professor George Haddix and his wife gave a $10 million to Creighton University last month.  The gift is earmarked academic programs, faculty development, laboratories, student opportunities and advising.

Haddix earned a master’s degree in math from Creighton and was a professor at the university from 1969-1971. He has donated to other schools he attended, including to STEM programs at UNO.

Prairie Construction was honored to be chosen for the first phase of this esteemed project. Immediately after the 2017/18 school year finished in May, we began demolition in the Rigge Science Building. This project kept us busy throughout the summer and we completed in August, right before the 2018/19 school year started.

The project included demolition of the first floor and a remodel of the corridor and four classrooms, as well as a remodel of labs on the second and fourth floors. The improvements will directly impact STEM programming for undergraduate and graduate students.

Prairie Construction was involved in other recent projects on Creighton University’s campus, including a multi-phase project in the Bio Information Center (BIC) for the occupational therapy study space and the addition of study carrels, and a renovation of the Old Gym. We value Creighton’s continued trust in Prairie Construction, and we look forward to partnering with them on additional projects in the future!

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Update on Creighton University Project

April is Occupational Therapy Month, so we thought this was a good time to share an update on our Creighton University project which includes a new space for the Occupational Therapy department.

We are currently wrapping up phase two of the multi-phase project that we told you about earlier. The renovation of the Bio Information Center (BIC) includes new study spaces and a new cafeteria, as well as the renovation of the former cafeteria into new classrooms and labs for the Occupational Therapy department.

The Creighton Occupational Therapy Department will move into their brand-new space at the end of this week, and immediately resume classroom instruction and patient care in the lab space next week.  The renovated instructional and clinical spaces will reflect the reputation for excellence in education that Creighton is known for and will allow for further growth and expansion of the occupational therapy department.

Occupational therapists play an important role in helping patients perform everyday functions they want and need to do through therapeutic activities. Prairie Construction is happy to play a role in the growth of Creighton University’s Occupational Therapy department. Happy Occupational Therapy Month to the faculty, students and professionals at Creighton University!

Posted on By Julie Swartz Categories Current Projects

Multi-Phase Project Underway on Creighton University Campus

If you have driven near the Creighton University campus recently, you’ve probably noticed some changes! The former hospital and medical center is being transformed into retail space and apartments. Construction of a brand-new building for the dental school is nearly complete on the east side of campus. Several academic buildings on campus have undergone facelifts and remodels.

The Bio-Information Center (BIC) Center on the campus of Creighton University, which was originally occupied in May 1977, is also undergoing some significant changes. As the university continues to expand its programs and course offerings, existing spaces are being repurposed to accommodate the growth. The space continues to be needed for student use throughout the school year, so Prairie Construction has developed a plan to carry out a multi-phase remodel project in order to eliminate disruptions.

We completed the initial phase of the project – the creation of a new study space to replace the current study space – in early January before the start of the second semester. Several study carrels with glass doors and desks were created and are receiving high praise from students who have already put them to good use.

The BIC currently houses the Health Sciences Library. A portion of the former library was renovated into a new cafeteria space. Students moved into the cafeteria, Sara’s Place as it is referred, in early February.  Prairie Construction recently began the renovation of the former cafeteria space into classroom and lab space for the Occupational Therapy program. The existing study space will be demolished.

We will continue to share progress of this exciting project at Creighton University!