Though most students left town during the summer months, the Pullman community kept busy with a number of construction projects and building improvements, both on and off campus.

Washington State U. Capital Planning and Development began construction on the Valley Road and Grimes Way playfields this summer. Officials expect the Valley Road Playfield improvement project to be completed by Jan. 10, 2011. The projected completion date for the Grimes Way Playfield is October 2010.

Project manager Darryll Sherman said the construction is meant to fix drainage issues that make the fields unusable for a large portion of the year.

“The whole intent of the project is to create a safe playing environment for the students and to enable year-round use,” he said.

Improvements include the installation of artificial turf on both fields, improved lighting and more shade and seating areas.

The Bryan Hall Clock Tower underwent a facelift this summer that is slated for completion this month. As part of the clock tower’s overhaul, workers with Golis Construction, Inc. removed the clock’s four faces to make improvements to the hands and dials. Thomas Golis, the founder of Golis Construction, said the wooden panels of the old clock faces were replaced with aluminum panels that are reinforced with steel, though the appearance of the clock did not change.

Construction also began on the new Global Animal Health Building, which is located southeast of the current Veterinary Teaching Hospital and scheduled to be completed in spring of 2012.

The building will mostly provide new laboratory space for vaccine research, said Guy Palmer, professor of veterinary microbiology and pathology and director of the School for Global Animal Health, in a past Daily Evergreen story. A team of WSU students spent more than a semester designing and creating the new sign now serving as a gateway to the College Hill neighborhood.

The concrete and aluminum sign, located at the corner of Opal Street and Maiden Lane, was designed by senior architecture majors Mark Lo and Brian Wilson.

The space surrounding the sign is meant to be a gathering place with a landscaped, plaza-like area that incorporates seating.