Some people claim our economy is still struggling, but you can’t prove it by my neighborhood.
There are at least 8 recent construction sites within the 16 square blocks south of my house. All have been started or finished within the last 9 months. I went on a walk today and took pictures of all of the 8 I found. (1st picture is now, the square picture below it is from before, as seen on Google Maps.)
It’s been a year and a half in the making, and technically it’s not done. They are supposed to remove those two power poles in the middle of the parking lot, but I’ve been waiting a month and nothing’s happened. I got tired of taking identical pictures every couple days, so I’m finishing it now.
The building itself is complete, and occupied now. So here it is:
Ok, they’re not really Legos, but they do snap together to make walls for buildings.
There’s a lot of construction going on in my neighborhood, and I’ve been watching and photographing it.
I went by the site on the corner of 2100 South and View Street, where they’re building the aptly named 21&View complex.
They’re building it by making these hollow, styrofoam lego-type building blocks, and then filling them with concrete.
They’re referred to as “insulated concrete forms”, so I get the feeling that they are going to remain even after the concrete is dry.
I’m going to have to keep an eye on the progress, see exactly how things work out.
Take nothing but pictures, and smile. They’re watching.
Moon over my Chevron.
Every wonder how they build a parking structure? I’ve been watching it happen, and it’s quite fascinating. Once they have the original foundation they put up a huge aluminum framework with a whole bunch of posts and braces underneath it.
Then they put down some boards, a whole bunch of crisscrossing rebar and then pour a thick layer of concrete over it. They just keep going round and round until they get to the top layer.
The English teacher next to me lost a lot of weight before I started working there by changing to a mostly raw, mostly vegetarian diet. Very healthy, very not-burgers. She also drinks a lot of herbal tea, and got into the habit of bringing me a cup of it every morning. In a very dainty tea cup that makes my first period expect me to drink it with my pinky finger extended. It’s become a ritual.
So to thank her for her efforts and because I’ve grown to really enjoy my morning cup of tea, I went and bought her a few boxes of flavored teas.
But I can’t just give them to her, Nooooo. Instead I had to go by a MacDonalds and buy myself a couple of Big Macs (first time I’ve eaten there in several years).
I’m going to present her with a MacDonalds bag with two Big Mac boxes in it. She’ll probably know right away that it is some kind of joke, but the kids in her first period will probably not.
Almost makes me look forward to the end of spring break.
I mentioned the Westminster College construction on this site before. I’ve also mentioned the “Sugarhole”, the destruction of a set of buildings dating back before the 60’s that made up the core of the Sugarhouse business district.
Now there are 4 different construction sites within 3 square city blocks. Three of them are showing considerable progress since the old buildings were razed. The Sugarhole hasn’t changed since the financial crash of 2008.
Kitty-corner from the Westminster construction is this multi-use development, you can see that the work is going on behind the sign.
This is what the Westminster construction is supposed to look like when it is done.
And here it is now.
A block down, on the other side of the street this apartment building is going up.
Here is what it looks like now.
And the theoretical mixed use development that is supposed to fill the Sugarhole.
And what it looks like now.
Right out my front door I could see why they chose Sunday.
Look to the south and they’re working in the road.
Look to the north and they’re working in the road.
And I think I was wrong about it having to do with the new construction. When I walked by I saw them pulling out an old, rusty valve and there was a brand new one exactly the same size on the side by the hole.
Oh well, it was a good guess.
I just went to the bathroom, flushed the toilet and watched the water flow.
I know. You’re wondering why I’m blogging about such a mundane, daily and unappealing subject.
Because on Sunday I won’t be able to do that for around 8 hours.
I found this door hanger on my front door this evening. Well, actually I got two of them, since my house has two front doors.
So tomorrow one of my chores is going to be to fill a bunch of buckets with water. Because I can’t go 8 hours without going to the bathroom, and in the city they frown on using the bushes, even if they are in the back yard.
