Marc Weintraub

Beware of a lawyer smiling this broadly! Marc Weintraub and I just finished visiting (rather intently) with the LLC’s accountant, Steve Kawash of Gibbons and Kawash. We are in the process of marketing/selling the tax credits and we were meeting to double check our financial representation. All went well.

Actually, Marc had just asked if he could be in the BLOG so I whipped out the camera and whala……your Blogging Marc!

John Harris (L) and Chris Knorr (R)

This is the third project I have been intimately involved with that was the recipient of historic tax credits, but it’s the first time I’ve been so involved in the owner’s perspective.

The approach our team has taken has been to encourage and promote effective communication particularly with the State Historic Preservation Representative (Chris Knorr, the assistant director) and the design/construct team.

People warned me how difficult this process would be (…not worth the time and money…etc. Well, these must be people that have a lot higher hourly rate than I! ….OK…my nephew is the personal assistant of a major photographer that has a day rate of over...(a huge amount...self editing working for a change) per day. That might have made this exercise too costly!).

Anyway…I hope you all get the point.

I sincerely believe that if it were not for this tax incentive program, 209 Capitol Street would be a surface parking lot.

Moving from Floor to Floor During construction

Over the years, the building had several means of moving from one floor to another, including I’m sure ladders at some point. A new building needs at least two means of exit in fire protected corridors or shafts (as in stair towers).

209 will have two new stair towers (as well as a new elevator), but while they are being constructed, floor to floor movement from the lower level (aka basement) to floor 1 and 2 is facilitated by an internal scaffold. We still are moving from floor 2 to 3 by a ladder.

Up on the Roof

There was a section of the exterior masonry wall closest to Capitol Street which faces the surface parking lot which was in need of a complete repair. Above are photographs of this wall from both sides in its “as repaired” condition.

Structure for Heating and Cooling Units

The heating and cooling for the building will be supplied by a large unit located on the roof. This unit weighs several pounds and is essentially supported on the ground by extending the support from the foundation, through the new masonry shaft for the elevator and stair tower and then to steel, which is pictured here. This steel is galvanized which will retard corrosion.

Lawyers (& a developer) prepare for a tour

Ben Bailey (far left) led the process of office selection this week. Well done Ben! So it’s really quite cool now that people can now go and see their new work space. Fun to be around this type of positive energy.

Clean Debris

So…while we are talking about demolition…(read the next post)….here’s another green concept for you. The above pile of material is referred to as clean fill. That means it can go somewhere that is need of a change in horizontal elevation (i.e. as in filling up a piece of real estate to the desired level). This fill is clean (it includes no wood as an example or rubbish) and it would be receptive to being compacted and staying compacted or consolidated.

Why is this green you might ask? Well, alternatively this material would go to a solid waste fill and take up space for more appropriate trash and….by the way (see green verses gold dialogue in other post), a clean fill site does not cost money…a permitted landfill charges a per ton fee.

Now you know more about clean fill then just about all your friends…..

Scrap Metal and More

This project has had a dominant storyline I’d call demolition. There has been a lot of it! Likely, people outside the industry don’t think much about this topic, but here are a few points of interest.

Above is a pile of metal lath salvaged from the building. Metal lath is for the most part an antiquated building material. Plaster and Concrete were often adhered to their respective substrate (say floor joists or wall studs) by the use of lath, which was attached to the substrate and then the liquid material (plaster/concrete) was placed in a plastic form around the lath and then it hardened and was effectively adhered to the substrate.

Throw all that out at your next cocktail party.

Anyway….the point is that scrap metal is bringing such a large price (thanks China), we have taken the extra time to salvage it and so we are going green (recycling)…but more significantly we have received checks totaling about $7,000. Green is good….gold is better!

Who are these good looking people???

From left to right...Matt Gladwell (B&G); Bob Settle (PCC); Tracey Seibert (GBBN); Tony Yunker (GBBN) and Erich Reggi (PCC).

Building projects end up being evaluated by the "stuff" that's produced in a specified time period for specified dollars....but behind all that stuff is the key critical success factor...people! And here are some good ones.

More North Wall

Notice scaffold on end near Capitol.

Let there be light!

This photo does no justice to the effect. The building interior is looking so much more hospitable with the streaming light that is now allowed/encouraged to enter the building. This is going to be a great workspace!

North Wall Windows Emerge

Compression lintels and openings for new windows are presenting themselves to the community. Welcome!