Five years after discovering damaged and cracking windows throughout its 7-year-old Stead Family Children’s Hospital, the University of Iowa is about one-third through its massive window-replacement project — with work expected to continue through the end of 2025 or into early 2026.
The university has built flexibility into the construction timeline, “to account for weather and patient census.” And officials told The Gazette they haven’t yet determined the total cost.
In February 2023 — two years after the UI first went to the Board of Regents with a $10 to $15 million request to replace blemished, cracking and delaminating windows on just two floors of the 14-story Children’s Hospital — hospital officials returned with a revised request to spend $45 million replacing windows on floors 3 through 11.
The university also is replacing windows on a connector bridge linking the Children’s Hospital with the John Pappajohn Pavilion on the medical campus.
The Children’s Hospital “is experiencing systemic issues with the windows failing to perform consistent with the agreed upon specifications,” according to UIHC’s February 2023 request to increase the project’s scope and cost to $45 million.
“On the advice of (the Children’s Hospital’s) outside window experts … the university installed a protective film and mechanical clips on all windows that have been identified as potential safety hazards to provide additional protection to assure the safety of all patients, visitors, and staff,” according to the request, reporting the university “actively monitors all windows.”
A construction timeline shared with regents had work beginning in spring 2023 and finishing in fall 2025.
ADVERTISING
“To date, we have installed nearly one third of the windows that need to be replaced,” UI Health Care spokeswoman Laura Shoemaker told The Gazette this week.
The cost to replace and temporarily secure the flawed windows — first discovered in July 2019, just two years after the 507,000-square-foot hospital’s 2017 debut — is to be covered with patient-generated revenue, at least initially.
But the university in June 2022 sued the two contractors who installed the 900-some windows in the hospital — Iowa City-based Knutson Construction and Cupples Construction of Illinois — accusing them of faulty work and products suffering from “systemic defects.”
“As (the university) continued to observe defects, it was required to undertake mitigation efforts to protect its patients, guests, employees and the general public from potential life safety issues associated with the defective conditions, specifically the potential for falling glass,” according to the lawsuit. “As a result, (the university) had protective film installed and clips on the exterior surface of the (windows) that, should any (windows) break, will keep any broken glass safely in the frame.”
The university is asking the court to make Cupples and Knutson cover the cost to replace the defective windows, to investigate the damage, to take mitigation measures — plus attorneys feeds and other legal expenses.
Nearly two years ago in September 2022, the parties agreed to attempt to resolve the issue through arbitration. One year ago in August 2023, the court scheduled arbitration for May 6, 2024 — noting the matter should be tried “not later than Dec. 31, 2024.”
Last month, the court issued an automatic dismissal notice “because there has been no new activity on the case for some time,” according to Shoemaker.
“The case, in which the university is seeking damages including the cost to repair the windows, is still ongoing and in arbitration,” she said.
www.thegazette.com
The university has built flexibility into the construction timeline, “to account for weather and patient census.” And officials told The Gazette they haven’t yet determined the total cost.
In February 2023 — two years after the UI first went to the Board of Regents with a $10 to $15 million request to replace blemished, cracking and delaminating windows on just two floors of the 14-story Children’s Hospital — hospital officials returned with a revised request to spend $45 million replacing windows on floors 3 through 11.
The university also is replacing windows on a connector bridge linking the Children’s Hospital with the John Pappajohn Pavilion on the medical campus.
The Children’s Hospital “is experiencing systemic issues with the windows failing to perform consistent with the agreed upon specifications,” according to UIHC’s February 2023 request to increase the project’s scope and cost to $45 million.
“On the advice of (the Children’s Hospital’s) outside window experts … the university installed a protective film and mechanical clips on all windows that have been identified as potential safety hazards to provide additional protection to assure the safety of all patients, visitors, and staff,” according to the request, reporting the university “actively monitors all windows.”
A construction timeline shared with regents had work beginning in spring 2023 and finishing in fall 2025.
ADVERTISING
“To date, we have installed nearly one third of the windows that need to be replaced,” UI Health Care spokeswoman Laura Shoemaker told The Gazette this week.
The cost to replace and temporarily secure the flawed windows — first discovered in July 2019, just two years after the 507,000-square-foot hospital’s 2017 debut — is to be covered with patient-generated revenue, at least initially.
But the university in June 2022 sued the two contractors who installed the 900-some windows in the hospital — Iowa City-based Knutson Construction and Cupples Construction of Illinois — accusing them of faulty work and products suffering from “systemic defects.”
“As (the university) continued to observe defects, it was required to undertake mitigation efforts to protect its patients, guests, employees and the general public from potential life safety issues associated with the defective conditions, specifically the potential for falling glass,” according to the lawsuit. “As a result, (the university) had protective film installed and clips on the exterior surface of the (windows) that, should any (windows) break, will keep any broken glass safely in the frame.”
The university is asking the court to make Cupples and Knutson cover the cost to replace the defective windows, to investigate the damage, to take mitigation measures — plus attorneys feeds and other legal expenses.
Nearly two years ago in September 2022, the parties agreed to attempt to resolve the issue through arbitration. One year ago in August 2023, the court scheduled arbitration for May 6, 2024 — noting the matter should be tried “not later than Dec. 31, 2024.”
Last month, the court issued an automatic dismissal notice “because there has been no new activity on the case for some time,” according to Shoemaker.
“The case, in which the university is seeking damages including the cost to repair the windows, is still ongoing and in arbitration,” she said.
UI Children’s Hospital window replacement about one-third done
Five years after discovering damaged and cracking windows throughout its 7-year-old Stead Family Children’s Hospital, the University of Iowa is about one-third through its massive window-replacement project — with work expected to continue through the end of 2025 or into early 2026.
www.thegazette.com
