Construction » ACORN Committee Log
September 24, 2009, Update
The project is progressing nicely. We were able to dismantle the crane and remove it from the site without any problems. Thanks to everyone on Tradd for putting up with some disruption for those two days. We are in the shallow foundation stage for the next four weeks. Over that time period, we will have four concrete pours that will require about five to six trucks per pour, so our traffic should not be very impacting. We will continue to stay abreast of the dirt and mud in the roadway, especially as we move into a damper part of the year.
September 13, 2009, Update
I am pleased to report that the deep foundation phase (piles) has been completed. The last pile was installed Friday, one week ahead of schedule. We always thought this phase would be one of the most difficult with the amount of dirt leaving the site and the amount of concrete entering but the execution was sound. We will be breaking down the crane on Monday and removing it from the site on Tuesday. This process will require some blockage of Tradd St. on Tuesday but it will just be a reverse of the delivery so we don't expect any issues.
We have the site work contractor on site and are moving into the shallow foundation stage. This phase will have less construction traffic to and from the site than we have had in the past two weeks.
Again thank you for your understanding and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns
September 4, 2009, Update
This week has progressed nicely. We have installed 46 of the total 101 piles required for the building. The movement of the concrete trucks has been flawless and the contractor has had a man posted throughout the work day to clean off the trucks before they left and clean the street behind each one. With this pace we will finish the piles next week, one full week ahead of schedule. You will be happy to know that the project will shut down through the long holiday weekend and I hope everyone has an enjoyable one.
August 14, 2009, Update
Pleased to inform that we have completed demolition!! We continue to be very pleased with the attention demonstrated by all members of our construction team. I received just one call through this process, and you can see from the photos the magnitude of what took place. We will continue to work hard to insure this continues.
We will be bring in the auger cast machine on the 19th of August around 9 am. We will be coming down Meeting St and backing back up Tradd. Off-loading will last until about two. We do not plan on blocking off Tradd although traffic may be diverted for a short amount of time.
Also we will be doing the same thing on the 24th with a load of rebar.
Again we thank you for your understanding and realize the complexity is increasing as schools start and most of you return to town from summer vacation. If I can be of any assistance feel free to call.
August 5, 2009, Update
Happy to report that we have completed the major demolition work (building walls and roofs). All vibration stations have stayed within acceptable ranges. There are many ways to take down buildings, but the care taken by the operator and the onsite supervisors translated into a job well done.
We will be continuing the interior demolition on the administration building and foundation of Molly Wier Hall this week. The haz-mat (asbestos) removal is complete, and we obtained DHEC clearances on the Administration Building.
We will bring the largest piece of equipment in (a crane for drilling the piles) during the week of August 17. We will let you know when that will be as we get closer, but we don't anticipate any major neighborhood disruption.
I have attached two photos taken today for your review.
We will continue to stay abreast with the pulse of the project daily; feel free to contact me with any concerns.
July 24, 2009, Update
We started demo this week at it has been moving right along, I have included a photo taken today. [This is the photo on the main "Construction" page; click here to see it.]
Trident Construction Co. has been using two hoses to keep the area damp to reduce the associated dust, and this seems to be working well. We have been very careful to explain to all operators the sensitivity of their equipment movement, and they have been very responsive. As the photo shows, the demo of the Annex building is 95% complete and we will be moving on to [Molly Wier] Hall next week. It appears that we will have most of the demolition completed by the middle of next month.
Through this process the vibration monitors have been read daily, and those readings have been within the range the we expected. We have four in place surrounding the construction site all within 100'. This process will continue for at least another six months.
Coastal Engineering has completed 21 existing-condition exterior inspections and 7 existing-condition interior inspections. Mike Allen said the process went very smoothly and enjoyed meeting all. I would like to thank you all for your corporation.
Asbestos removal has been completed.
We expect to be installing a test pile on or before August the 17th, and our production piles will begin around the first of September. Please remember the pile process is to drill a 16" hole, install a rebar cage, and fill it with concrete. This process does involve a large piece of equipment, and we will schedule its arrival at a time that will have minimum impact on the normal neighborhood activities.
I have been very pleased with Trident's onsite personnel, their response time in dealing with issues that arise (all have been addressed in less than a day), and their commitment for limiting the impact of such a complex project on the neighborhood. We will continue to stay abreast with the pulse of the project daily. Feel free to contact me with any concerns.
Week of July 20 – 24:
- Obtained DHEC Clearances and DHEC demolition permit on July 21
- Started demolition of school [Edcuation] building July 21 at 12 pm
- Roof, walls, and second floor of school building demolished as of end of work on July 24. Trackhoe blew a hydraulic line. Lost 4 hours.
- Asbestos removal complete in [Molly Wier] hall and admin building. Waiting on clearances.
- Moved kitchen equipment.
- Hooked up temp. power and water
Expected progress for July 27 – 31:
- Continue demo of school [Education] building and start demo of [Molly Wier] hall building.
- Start interior demolition on admin building.
- Continue working on VE items and pricing.
- Order pile rebar and release pile subcontractor and site-work subcontractor.
- Expect to start test pile no later than Aug. 17. Production piles to begin first of September.
July 7, 2009, Update
Completed since June 22:
- Continued with asbestos removal. Asbestos removal from the Education Annex building was completed on July 2. The contractor has started containment in preparation to remove asbestos from the Molly Wier Hall building.
- Installed screening on temporary construction fence.
- Vibration monitoring equipment was placed today (July 7).
Scheduled for upcoming week:
- Some neighborhood home pre-inspections will be completed this week. Others will continue through July 20.
- Continue with asbestos removal in Molly Wier Hall building.
- Miscellaneous demolition in Admin Building.
- Demolition of school building to start July 20.
- Continue to locate all utilities and establish temporary power and water for demolition subcontractors as they move into the Admin building.
June 22, 2009, Update:
Completed during week of June 15-20:
- Demolished wall at King Street and small section at Tradd.
- Made all connections on new chiller to prepare for tie-in on 22nd
- Had a delay with asbestos removal due to a DHEC permit issue.
- Demolition subcontractor removed cabinets and performed some prep work.
- Disassembled playground equipment.
Scheduled for Week of June 22 - 26:
- Completed chiller tie ins on 22nd. We are now operating our campus off of the new chiller.
- Begin asbestos removal process on 22nd
- Temp construction fence will go up on 23rd or 24th.
- Continue with pricing from set issued on the 15th.
June 15, 2009, Update:
Scheduled for June 15 - 19:
- We will begin asbestos removal in the annex building.
- We will be removing the wall at King St and installing temporary construction fencing around site.
- The new chiller will be on site Tuesday or Wednesday and we will begin hookups on the chiller end.
- Removing playground equipment.
We will start the chiller switch-over on Monday the 22nd.
June 13, 2009, Update and Summary:
Progress to date:
- Installed tree protection and erosion control
- Received demo permit
- Dug trench for temp chiller and electrical lines and installed conduits and disconnect
- Covered and compacted trench
- Built chiller pad / rack
- Removed and pruned trees
- Removed granite block curbing
- Started disassembling playground equipment.
May 18, 2009, Update:
At its meeting on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, Charleston's Board of Architectural Review gave final approval to First (Scots)'s building plans.
April 24, 2009, Update:
Trey McCraw, Chair of the ACORN Committee, has announced a neighborhood meeting to be held in Molly Wier Hall at 5:00 o'clock on the afternoon of May 12. He writes,
We will have a presentation to start and will address all questions and concerns that you might have. We will also have key members of our project team in attendance.
I do ask that you submit a list of questions by May 6 to insure that we are able to address them in a succinct and factual manner.
We at First (Scots) continue to be committed to doing what we can to be a good neighbor through such a complex project and remain fervent in refining this type of communication.
Interested parties should send questions to Trey McCraw by May 6 in care of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, 29401. They may also reach him at the phone number or email address that he distributed directly to neighborhood homes in an earlier flyer.
April 18, 2009, Update:
Trey McCraw writes,
"We were denied our final approval by the BAR at our meeting on the 8th [of April] by a vote of 2-1. The Board had concerns in three areas: roof, cornice, and north entrance. We have since met with our architect and made the adjustments that we feel are necessary in order to achieve final design approval.
"Our deadline [to submit revisions for the May 13 meeting of the BAR] is May 4th. We will be prepared for the May 4th submittal and feel good about the final approval on the 13th.
"Our schedule at this time has been affected by about two weeks which means that we will still be starting the preliminary prep work in the first week of June. Demo of Molly Wier will begin after the installation of the new chiller in a temporary position in the third week of June. We have ordered the new chiller for a delivery date on or about the 10th of June, and it will take about a week to connect to the sanctuary.
"As this process proceeds, I remain very confident that the building that will ultimately be approved is better than the one [planned] before and will continue to [meet] our needs as a Church, our budget, building quality, and overall aesthetic design. New elevations will be forthcoming upon refinement of that design."
For the record, the following is a list of approval dates of our requests to the various Charleston authorities:
1. City of Charleston BZA-Zoning. Approval: January 18, 2007
2. City of Charleston BZA-Site Design. Approval: January 2, 2008
3. City of Charleston TRC Courtesy Review: January 24, 2008
4. City of Charleston BAR. Demolition Approval: February 27, 2008
5. City of Charleston BAR. Conceptual Approval: February 27, 2008
6. City of Charleston BAR. Preliminary Approval: February 25, 2009
April 6, 2009, Update:
In describing the scope and complexity of the project, Trey McCraw wrote on April 5, 2009:
Let me be perfectly clear about this project. I have worked on some very complex projects, some costing more and some costing less, but none more logistically complex. [This project involves] 10k of demo, and 21k feet of new construction south of Tradd, [so the logistics will] be tough. [However,] we have the four things that will make this a success: the right contractor (hands down), the right designer, the right budget, and the right supporting staff.
The ACORN Committee is therefore working diligently to minimize the effects on the neighbors, to keep the neighbors informed about the process, and to keep communication open between the neighbors and the Committee. These steps have been taken to date:
February 18, 2009, Update: