Nic on Fifth - (290' - 26 Stories)

[beykite]

Are there good reasons why this thing is going so much faster (by my estimation) than the LPM tower? Didn't this one start way, way later? Glad to see it's moving along nicely.

Isn't half of the site still at ground level though? Only the side fronting Nicollet (where the tower portion will rise) is above ground. It doesn't look like much is going on right now where the other half of the pedestal will be. Unless I'm mistaken.

[nordeast homer]

Are there good reasons why this thing is going so much faster (by my estimation) than the LPM tower? Didn't this one start way, way later? Glad to see it's moving along nicely.

Some of it may be the size of the site. They are pretty cramped at the LPM site. They also drove a lot more pilings at the LPM site, probably deeper pilings too. They started the concrete structure considerably later than the Nic.

[spearson]

Went for a walk during lunch, what a beautiful day! Snapped a couple picks of the progress:

From across Nicollet:


From 4th and Marquette:

[MSPtoMKE]

From May 5th:

Nic on Fifth Construction by MSPdude, on Flickr

[emcee squared]

It is crazy seeing such an empty hole in the skyline when facing this direction.

[Nathan]

NICE PIC!!!

[mattaudio]

So. The tower crane on that northeast corner of the property... could they make some money back on their lease by letting Mortenson use it for 4Marq?

[lordmoke]

I wouldn't be surprised if they plan on keeping that crane there for the Xcel building as well. I don't think it's tall enough to top out 4Marq, though.

[Avian]

Out of curiosity, I wonder how foundation plans accommodate the caves under the city. There is a good-sized one under 4th street between Marquette and 2nd. Nice article about it here: http://gregbrick.org/schieks_cave

[spearson]

I think in some places they add support like mentioned in the article, but for the most part I think the limestone itself provides all the support they need. Then again, I am no geologist or a structural engineer (and I didn't stay at a holiday inn).

[Andrew_F]

I'm not sure about this particular spot, but there are definitely other caves in the Twin Cities where concrete, brick, and even wooden foundations penetrate caves below them. I think that is an older method, though. These days it seems that they more often pump them full of gravel and spraycrete. You may be correct about the limestone, Spearson. The only examples I can think of are either in areas where there's no limestone layer between the overburden and the sandstone, or where the building itself has significant below-ground structures.

[MNdible]

I seem to recall that when they were building the Anderson Library at the UofM that with those caves they carved the limestone shelf could span 60' without any additional support, carrying the load of the overburden and the buildings above it.

Now a very large, heavy building sitting atop a very large cavern might be cause for concern, but I think in most cases, they just count on the limestone shelf to do its thing.

[Matt]

Taken this afternoon:

[Nick]

IMG_3546 by UrbanMSP, on Flickr

[FISHMANPET]

Rode the train earlier this week and was amazed just how close to the tracks this building is.

[Nathan]

Does anyone have any insider or speculative knowledge about the back half of the garage? Are they just getting a head start on the taller section, then coming back to finish that or?

[mulad]

I see that they're using the future garage area for staging right now. Will they have to borrow that parking lot at the corner of 4th & Marquette for the garage-area work? It's easier to start in the far corner and work your way around the block, I'm guessing.

[widin007]

Well that parking lot is going to be 4Marq soon so they wont be able to use that either

[Minneboy]

I think 4Marq is to the right of the alley.

[min-chi-cbus]

I thought Marq4 was the East/Southeast half of the block? Is it just the Northeast quarter?