Archive for June 2014

Please join us on Saturday, June 14, as we celebrate completing phase one of our Livable Streets Initiative. The fun – incuding free bike helmets and fittings for kids – begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. at the transit hub adjacent to 40th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE across from the hospital.

Installation of a new computer room air conditioner and power distribution unit in the data center at our 70th and Sand Point Way Administration Building will require contractors to cut metal Thursday, June 12, and Friday, June 13.

The work, which is for the support structure to hold the new equipment, will take place on the east side of the building and generate intermittent noise.

Cutting will not begin until after 9 a.m. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

We’re pouring the concrete slab for two new catheterization labs at 6 a.m. on Friday, June 13. The early start is needed because it will take more than 10 hours to pour and finish the slab.

The state-of-the-art cath labs – where heart catheterization, stent placement and other cardiovascular care is provided – are being built outside the former emergency department.

The work may create some truck noise and a concrete boom may be visible. We appreciate your patience while we complete this important task.

Seattle Children’s is celebrating the completion of phase one of the hospital’s Livable Streets Initiative and you’re invited to join the fun at the transit hub adjacent to 40th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE across from the hospital.

Activities run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and include:

• A bike rodeo and free helmets and fittings for kids
• Bike to School Awards presented by the Cascade Bicycle Club
• Foot and bike tours of the completed Livable Streets Initiative projects such as the new greenway on 39th Avenue Northeast and new connection to the Burke Gilman Trail

The Livable Streets Initiative is part of a commitment we made to complete various neighborhood transportation improvements when we submitted our 20-year master plan and began our expansion.

Some roto-hammering will take place on May 12th – May 16th from 2 p.m. until about 7 p.m. in the center of Children’s main campus.  A rotary hammer is an electric boring tool that cuts very hard materials. It’s likely you won’t hear anything, but in case you do, we wanted to let you know what the noise is.  Please feel free to call us if you have questions or concerns at 206-987-8000.

We’re busy preparing to remodel spaces we moved out of last spring, building a new catheterization lab for cardiac patients, adding a rooftop garden terrace atop level seven, constructing additional patient rooms on two empty floors in the forest zone and making a number of other improvements around the hospital.

Contractors will return to the hospital in May to complete these important projects within the new building. Although most of the work involves interior spaces, some activity will be visible on the exterior for the next few months.

Expect to see some trucks, shuttles carrying workers, temporary construction fencing and construction cranes. We’ll keep noise and any other disruptions to a minimum. Thanks for your patience while we complete this important work. If you have any questions, please call 206-987-8000.

Work begins in early June on an eagerly awaited addition to the Forest zone – a rooftop terrace on level eight that offers patients, families, visitors and staff a peaceful place to get some fresh air, stretch their legs and enjoy the view.

The terrace is adjacent to the Cancer Care Unit and right outside the physical therapy gym. It will include a small shelter, a spyglass telescope, benches made from reclaimed wood, a walking path and lots of plants and shrubs and will be safely enclosed with see-through fencing. 

We expect the terrace to open by the end of summer 2014. We will post updates on the blog as they become available.

Spring is around the corner and daffodils aren’t the only things popping out of the ground. A new connection to the Burke-Gilman Trail – the last project in round one of our Livable Streets Initiative – is poised to open when we have received final city approval (hopefully in April).

Located behind the Hartmann Building, the connection provides paved access to the trail up a slope near a group of sequoia trees.

As part of our commitment to sustainability and the environment, we took great care to protect and preserve the trees during construction. A certified arborist periodically evaluated their health during the project. Jeff Hughes, Seattle Children’s manager of grounds and sustainability and Jim Keller of Site Workshop Landscape Architecture helped modify the connection’s design to avoid the trees’ root systems.

The connection provides safe and easy access between the Burke-Gilman trail across the Hartmann Building property to the traffic signal and crosswalk at Sand Point Way NE and 40th Avenue NE and the cycle track that runs in front of the hospital.

Watch for an update on this blog announcing the date of the connection opening!

Work at the site of a new link to the Burke-Gilman Trail will begin one hour earlier than usual on Friday, March 7. The 7 a.m. start is necessary because that’s the only time a concrete truck is available to pour concrete for a bench and a ramp. The new trail link, which is expected to open by the end of March, is located behind the Hartmann Building. Flaggers will redirect traffic as needed during the concrete pour. We appreciate your patience.