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Latest News
The 'big pour' for oratory at new campus
May 13, 2006
The largest concrete pouring in Southwest Florida history began in the early morning hours of May 13, 2006 at the site where the Ave Maria Oratory will eventually stand.
More than 70 mixer trucks carried some 7,000 tons of concrete to the site of Ave Maria University's permanent campus, where the mat slab foundation for the 100-feet-tall oratory was placed amid the already-rising structures of what will be Ave Maria, Florida's town center.
"If you drew a line from Tampa to Miami, this would be the largest concrete pour in the history of that region," said project coordinator Donald Schrotenboer.
The mammoth project, which involved more than 100 workers, took approximately 11 hours from start to finish, according to Schrotenboer.
"They began at about 2:30 this morning," Schrotenboer said. "The weather has been pretty cool and it's a perfect day to do this."
Schrotenboer said that the oratory foundation contains approximately 2900 cubic yards of concrete and 300 tons of reinforcing steel and is designed to protect the structure from hurricane-strength winds.
According to project planners, the oratory will be the physical and spiritual center of both the university and the town of Ave Maria. Steel structures for the oratory are expected to be in place this July, and plans are for the entire building to be completed by December 2007.
"One of the goals has been to celebrate Christmas Mass in the oratory," Schrotenboer said. "We're currently on-track to complete the project within that time frame."