SIMS Successes
SIMS Celebrates Unveiling of New Hall of Banners
Saturday morning turned into a celebration as more than 400 business and community leaders gathered April 16, 2011, during the unveiling of Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s newly renovated Hall of Banners. Through a partnership with the city of Phoenix Aviation Department’s Sound Insulation Mitigation Services (SIMS) project, the building received an approximate $1.4 million face lift.
“SIMS was created to assist community organizations like St. Vincent de Paul with the valuable work they do,” said Phoenix Sky Harbor Deputy Aviation Director Judy Ross (Ross and Phoenix city Councilman Michael Johnson are pictured above right). Ross spoke at the ceremony on behalf of the SIMS team and says the event marked a major milestone for the SIMS project, “The Airport is committed to being a good neighborhood partner. We’re not just celebrating the completion of a building. We’re celebrating the successful partnership between SIMS and St. Vincent de Paul.”
SIMS is a program offered through Sky Harbor’s Community Noise Reduction Program, offering assistance to facilities that are impacted by noise from Sky Harbor air traffic. SIMS provides building treatments designed to create an internal environment that allows for easier conversation and encourages development and learning.
The SIMS Team choreographed the 16-month collaborative effort on the St. Vincent de Paul Hall of Banners with cooperation from St. Vincent de Paul, ForeSite Design & Construction, Inc. and its host of subcontractors, and the city of Phoenix Development Services Department (DSD) and Engineering and Architectural Services Division (EAS). SIMS began construction work January 2011 and completed construction efforts in April. SIMS took special steps in coordinating construction on the 10,000-plus square-foot Hall of Banners so that St. Vincent de Paul could continue using part of the facility to offer its services to the community.
Frank Kubinski, Director of Facilities and Loss Control at Society of St. Vincent de Paul, worked closely with the SIMS team throughout the project. “The SIMS team was seamless. I have never worked on a project of this size and scope that went so smoothly.”
Working diligently with St. Vincent de Paul’s administrative staff, Facilities Committee, and its Board of Directors, the SIMS team determined design and acoustical treatments most appropriate for the building. Each of the installed treatments were specially ordered and made for the Hall of Banners. They include:
- New ceiling of sound-reducing acoustical tiles
- New mechanical system and duct work
- New ceiling fans
- New lighting
- Altering existing fire sprinklers
- New sound-reducing glazing at exterior windows
- New sound-reducing exterior doors
Recognizing the value of these enhancements, St. Vincent de Paul decided it was a perfect time to provide a few improvements of their own to the Hall of Banners. Through community donations, a new sound system, epoxy glazed floor, tables, chairs, and a fresh coat of wall paint were all added to provide the finishing touch to the facility’s facelift.
The Hall of Banners is a year-round, multi-use facility that hosts a variety of educational classes and activities for families including legal and financial support for parents and reading, math, and art programs for children. Additionally, each evening the organization feeds 300 hungry and homeless individuals.
SIMS was implemented in June 2009 to offer sound-reducing treatments to non-residential structures identified in PSHIA’s 2006 Non-Residential Sound Mitigation Services Feasibility Study. SIMS can assist schools, places of worship, and community centers in Phoenix and Tempe built before Oct. 1, 1998, and located within an eligible noise area identified in Sky Harbor’s Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 150 Noise Compatibility Study.
|
