Fire (Station) in the Hole

Archive for the ‘21st Rd.’ Category

Curb, gutter, sidewalk installation on the north portion of 21st Rd. started last week and the first section of sidewalk went in yesterday.  Below is a quick photo sequence of the work so far. Also, FYI, I uploaded the interior plans to the “Architectural Drawings” page.

First, let me apologize for being unsociable.

I’ve added an “add this” bar to the end of each post so you can now easily  link, email, tweet, digg, or otherwise share any post to almost any “sociable media” platform around. If you want to link to the home page use the buttons to the right. Also if you want to quickly see any of the videos posted here click on the YouTube button on the right which will take you to the FSITH YouTube Channel.

Last week was a busy one. Not so much for the garage as 21st Rd., where crews started work on curb and gutters from Lee Hwy to approx where the mini-park will be developed. I’m going to hold off posting pics from that work for a day or so because there are a lot of them. Check back in a few days or link to the RSS feed and wait for notification.

Last Saturday most of the brick veneer work was finished. The only totally unfinished section left is a small section on the east side and a tiny part of the NE corner. There are also a few areas that have not been mortared yet.

Also, last week, the railing out side the Lee Hwy exit was painted beige to match the roof.

So with not too many to-do items left to check off on Koons garage construction and the FS3 site getting a chance to dry out with this great weather it seems a hand-off to Whiting-Turner shouldn’t be too far off now for sure. Anyway here’s a couple more garage construction pics from last week:

Many have asked when the fire station construction is going to start. Here is the answer according to Rick Pinsky, Arlington County’s FS3 project manager:

“Due to status of the Final Engineering Plan approval and site transfer delay FD&C has not issued a Notice To Proceed to Whiting – Turner.

Whiting-Turner will not accept the site due to excess soil on the site (this is the site transfer issue).  FD&C needs a timeline from Keane’s for removal of the soil from the site.  With recent weather conditions, a snow covered site and then dry out, it will be difficult for Keane’s to venture a guess.

Once FD&C has issued a NTP, Whiting-Turner will have 395 days to complete the project.  If FD&C issued a NTP on March 1, 2010, the project should be completed by March 31, 2011.“

So there you have it . (Keane is the construction manager for the Koons Toyota Garage)

One other Q&A – I was asked if Koons is permanently parking its cars on 21st Rd near Lee. The answer is I hope not. The cars parking there now belong to construction employees. When the garage is completed there is no parking on 21st Rd. from Lee Hwy to the west end of the fire station.

Last weekend mystical eleves striped the three Koons garage levels. I didn’t even notice the work was being done until it was. Oddly it’s a good sight to see because it means the garage is that much closer to completion. Not much other real excitement.

Striped :

South Facade Looking West:

Brick Veneer On East Side Creeps Northward:

Preparing for Window Grids on West Facade: