Despite weather setbacks, New College House West construction remains on schedule

The construction of New College House West, Penn's most expensive dorm, remains on schedule despite facing minor delays because of wet weather-related issues, Penn housing officials said.

The setbacks include the delayed completion of caisson work, which was supposed to be completed by early March, but was pushed back to mid-April, Residential Services Manager Jamal Hagood wrote in a March 12 email sent to Rodin College House residents.

Yet FRES Director of Communications Jennifer Rizzi said the project is on schedule for completion by fall 2021.

In an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Rizzi wrote that minor tweaks were made to compensate for the weather delays caused by rain.

"The project is on schedule and there really aren't any new developments or construction updates to report at this point," Rizzi wrote.

Construction contractors have been excavating deeper into the ground of the site and installing walls to secure the excavation area, Hagood wrote. The caisson functions as a watertight structure and is used to keep the construction area dry. The process of creating the caissons for New College House West began in late January.

In another email sent to Rodin residents on March 22, Hagood said that caisson work completed on March 24 included removing rain water from the construction site.

The building, which was announced with a projected cost of $163 million, was unveiled in November 2017 and construction began in 2018. When completed, the four-year house will stand 13 stories tall and will exclusively house suite-style apartments with no singles.

Construction work will shift to Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during reading days and exam week in early May.