Construction Continues Despite Snow

As the city slipped and slid around from multiple inches of snow and ice dumped on it in recent days, construction crews continued building our city. Down on Water St. at The Residences on Water site men scrambled to remove snow from the roof while a crane lifted large beams into place. It appears the ER Post Structural System does allow them to build quickly as had been indicated. In fact fast enough that a line of semi's sit with their engines running across the street from the site waiting their turn to unload the next beam.

Over at the Breakwater site they have been busy as well. A second crane which is the largest crawler crane in the state has recently been assembled and will have a reach of up to 400 feet. The snow may have slowed some work but workers continued building the foundation and with second crane it's clear that shortly we will see this project begin to rise out of the ground.

The Residences on Water

The Residences on Water is beginning to rise out of the ground. The building utilizes a new development method, called the ER Post Structural System, that should allow for the pace of work to dramatically pickup in the coming weeks. This acceleration is possible because this method allows for all-weather erection, has fewer pieces and lets other trades begin work earlier in the process. The $20 million project is being developed by Fort Myers, FL based Development Opportunity Corporation. Once complete it will include a 128-room Staybridge Suites, 31 condo units, ranging in price from $234,000 to $2.3 million of which 8 have been sold so far, and 14,000 square feet of retail space.

I believe this project will have long lasting positive impacts on the Water St district. First it finishes the corner by removing a surface parking lot which adds to the urban fabric. Secondly the new activity created by the residents and hotel guests will continue to fuel neighborhood business. Further this project is clearly connected to Manpower's move to downtown and should support their business travel needs. Overall this is one of the most intriguing projects to watch considering the potential long term affects it will have on Water St. To follow this development I've started a flickr set, The Residences on Water, that I will update with new pictures to keep track of the progress. Articles

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