Aerial view of the future Park Van Ness, park side. Saul Centers is aiming for a November 2015 completion.
The demolition of the former Van Ness Square will be completed in the next week or two. After that, the construction of the future Park Van Ness will begin.
Last Thursday, May 29th, ANC 3F Commissioner Sally Gresham presided over a community meeting with Saul Centers, Clark Construction, and DDOT’s Matthew Marcou discussing the next phases of the project at 4455 Connecticut Avenue. Robert Houghton, a vice president at B.F. Saul, presented on the timeline.
Project Milestones:
Raze and Excavation: December 1, 2013 – August 1, 2014
Concrete Construction: June 1, 2014 – May 15, 2015
Facade Construction: March 15, 2015 – July 15, 2015
Sitework: June 1, 2015 – November 1, 2015
Project completion: November, 2015 (projected)
A May 28th photo of the site used in the presentation.
Dump trucks bringing supplies in and taking rubble out will continue to comprise most of the traffic at the site. There was no specific mention at the meeting of the flagmen stopping traffic to let trucks in and out. Most concern centered around the truck’s routes. The trucks have prescribed routes for approaching and leaving the site to keep them off local streets that are not built for their weight.
Three additions to the traffic control plan that impact pedestrians were mentioned by Matthew Marcou, the manager of DDOT’s public space division:
- The crosswalk markings at Yuma will be removed to further discourage crossings.
- Signs at Yuma will be changed to specify a no crossing area and where to cross.
- Audible messages, set off by motion detectors at each end of the construction site, will direct pedestrians to return to the intersection at Windom or Albemarle to cross to the other side of Connecticut Avenue. DDOT is the first in the nation to use such motion-activated messages.
Construction is about 60 days behind schedule due to complexities of the site and weather. When pushed for some sense of when pedestrians would have their sidewalk back, the best estimate was summer of 2015.
The presentation from the community meeting is available for download here (PDF).