The foundation is now complete! The workers have spent the week leveling off the site and believe it or not, the first shipment of structural steel will arrive this Monday. The next three weeks will be spent erecting the basic frame of the building. We are told it will go up very fast, in thirds, from the east side to the west, three stories at a time. By the end of January, we will have a very good idea of what the building will look like structurally.

If you are wondering why most of the ground in this picture still looks like so much dirt, it’s because the concrete slab that will provide the foundation floor will not be poured until March. Though the caissons, foundation walls and grade beams are firmly in place, the leveled ground needs to be left as bare earth for now so the workers can install the necessary underground plumbing, etc. The concrete for the third and second floors will actually be poured in place before the ground floor goes in.

Perhaps I’ll weigh in on the “Global Warming” vs. “El Nino” controversy in a future post. For now, let’s just say that the unseasonably warm weather has been kind to our construction project. We are still right on schedule.