KNOXVILLE - The Christman Company (Christman) has been awarded two major building projects to renovate the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum and expand the State Street Garage.
Both projects will improve the experiences of community members, residents and tourists in downtown Knoxville with more parking options and a renovated venue for entertainment, from Knoxville Ice Bears hockey games to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s popular Pops Series concerts.
“These projects provide visible and tangible improvements and enhancements at two well-trafficked and popular locations in downtown Knoxville,” said Marty Gibbs, vice president and general manager for Christman’s Knoxville operations. “We appreciate the city and the Public Building Authority for entrusting us with both projects.”
The Public Building Authority manages construction projects and acts as the owner representative for the City of Knoxville and Knox County.
The $8.5 million renovation of the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum (KCAC) will bring significant improvements to the Coliseum, which is home to the Ice Bears, including a new ice floor system, painting of the ceiling and structure above the ice floor, new sports lighting system, new scoreboard systems and new HVAC equipment.
Renovations at the Auditorium, which hosts the Pops Series and multiple concerts and events, will include lighting upgrades, new stage flooring, new motorized orchestra pit and safety system upgrades.
Phase one of the KCAC project includes $2 million of work that will be completed by the end of September, with the remaining renovations to follow after the conclusion of the Ice Bears season next spring.
The $10 million expansion to the State Street Garage will add two upper decks and 570 parking spaces. Rentenbach Constructors, the Knoxville-based company Christman merged with in 2013, added one deck, a pedestrian bridge to Gay Street and other upgrades to the garage that same year.
Additional local projects for the company include the multiphase University of Tennessee Student Union − a $187 million project that spans nearly an entire campus block at 390,000 square feet, and the UT West Campus Housing Development − a $63 million project consisting of two residence halls with dining, study areas and a village-style community for students with suites and apartments.
About The Christman Company
The Christman Company, founded in 1894, is one of the country’s leading professional construction services firms. The company’s award-winning services include construction management, general contracting, design/build, program management, real estate development, and self-perform skilled trades. Christman specializes in a variety of construction markets, including government, higher and K12 education, industrial and power, healthcare, and corporate office. Ranked at 122 in the Engineering News-Record ENR 400 top contractors nationally, Christman has more than $2 billion in construction underway managed by 400 professional employees in 10 different office locations throughout the Southeast U.S., the Midwest, the Southwest U.S., and the mid-Atlantic. For more information, visit www.christmanco.com, and connect on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
