Library Place Construction Update, 10/2019

10 11 2019

“With the foundation piles in place, wood forms have been erected for the pouring of the concrete footers and exterior foundation walls for the four-story building. Part of the old library’s foundation is being reused in the project, but the two buildings have somewhat different footprints, so some new foundation walls are necessary. The rebar extended from the steel piles is encased in concrete and capped, and the steel bolts rising out of the cap will tie into the structural skeleton of the building above. Underground water pipes are being connected from the building to the city’s water system this week.

You might notice some similarities with the Cornell project with the forming and pouring walls, but also note some big differences as well – some of the building sites in Cornell (the sophomore village buildings) don’t require deep foundations. The soil on the hills is in better shape than it is in the more low-lying areas, and can generally handle a heavier load. This gives Cornell the benefit of being able to do quicker, less expensive foundation work in those areas where a shallow foundation is feasible.

The $17 million mixed-use building, which will contain commercial space, space administered by Lifelong and 66 senior apartments, is anticipating opening at the tail end of 2020 or early 2021.”

One thing that’s not readily apparent quite yet is that there’s a partially underground parking garage below the primary structure. That garage does not extend all the way to the street except for the entrance, which is where the fence gates are (and where these photos start from). You can eyeball the perimeter walls from the three concrete wells partitioned off in various boxes – the northern one, seen in the fourth photo, will house an elevator, mechanical room and stairwell, the middle one next to the excavator will house the trash room, and the southern one, next to the huge stack of masonry blocks, will house a maintenance room and southern stairwell.