urbanMSP

This might be a long shot but do you know of any good books I could check out that go more in depth on cost of adding stories as well as codes and construction practices?

You could start here. Or you could just slit your wrists...

Seriously, we probably should cull through some of the better threads where this has been discussed and have it in a FAQ, because it's something that comes all the flippin' time these days.

yikes!

Yeah....it's all about dollars and cents.

A 6 story building is GENERALLY the tallest a developer can go with "stick" frame construction (or wood instead of concrete or steel). Since (apparently) wood is the cheapest form of construction material, it's ideal for developers to keep heights below the threshold where wood could no longer support the heavier materials of a taller building.

Don't worry if this isn't obvious to you.....I only know this by being a veteran of this site and sites like it for years now. I AM in the industry, but don't (yet) dollop with these aspects in my day-to-day grind.

It's ideal for developers to keep heights below the threshold where wood could no longer support the heavier materials of a taller building.

Not quite. It's not that wood doesn't have the structural capacity to support more floors, it's that life-safety concerns limit the height of a building made from a flammable material.

So on Monday they hauled away a lot of dirt, and I think I saw some forms for pilings or something in the ground.

Also, the way that the street is being used as a sidewalk in front of this during construction makes me think that it could be a long time before the busway actually opens up to buses.

My friend that works in PTS told me that Washington will be open for bikes for spring semester. She didn't mention buses, but I don't know if that's because it won't be open for buses, or if she just doesn't know/care. (She's the ZAP student coordinator, so she's kinda bike-focused.)

My (optimistic) guess is that buses will start using Washington again then too, and pedestrians from that side of the street will just be shunted onto the walkway between the rails for that half-block.

A 6 story building is GENERALLY the tallest a developer can go with "stick" frame construction (or wood instead of concrete or steel). Since (apparently) wood is the cheapest form of construction material, it's ideal for developers to keep heights below the threshold where wood could no longer support the heavier materials of a taller building.

My understanding was that you can build five stories out of wood, whether from structural concerns or fire-safety concerns, and that's why all these six-story buildings have the ground floor framed with concrete. Not that I know anything about construction.

The buses will have to wait until all the landscaping is done on Washington, because the lack of space for work trucks. At least that's what I would imagine the hold up is. I would expect buses to return around fall 2013.

I would think that, for landscaping work, the work trucks could park on the rails themselves, which they're already doing for the median fence installation on the blocks that are open to traffic. The current holdup seems to be installing storm drains on the inner side of the bus lanes.

IIRC, trains and buses will share lanes from Church St to Union St. Ultimately, it's better to wait for the construction to be completed, and some level of testing done before returning buses to Washington.

Yeah, I've heard that, but I never put much stock in it. I've always been confused since current buses only have doors on the right-hand side, and I haven't heard of plans to get buses with doors on both sides in order to use the LRT platforms. If the buses can't use the LRT platforms, then it doesn't make much sense for them to go on the tracks, though perhaps someone wanted to keep that option open if there's an obstruction on the roadway or a bus is taking a long time to load/unload or something.

On that part of the East Bank, I think there's only a small mountable curb separating the regular busway from the tracks, so it wouldn't be hard for buses to get onto the tracks, but the curb is probably enough to discourage it from happening often.

I'm not sure how often tracks will need to be blocked for utility trucks from now until the LRT line is finished. Heavy construction is mostly done on that stretch, but stringing catenary wires and the other signaling wires will probably take some time.

The buses will not share platforms, but will share lanes with trains to provide space for bike lanes on Washington, for wider sidewalks, and for the (IMO, ridiculous idea of) center walkway between the LRT tracks.

It seems reasonable to have the tracks be mountable for buses to have the option tho get around obstructions, but to have them operate only on the tracks except when pulling up to a curbside bus stop seems silly and a waste of a full width driving lane. In any event, there will be significantly fewer buses on this stretch after the light rail opens, only the 2, Campus Connector and U of M express buses will run on it.

Also, this is getting off topic

So over the last few days they've been putting precast concrete walls in the pit, looks like about two stories, I assume they're both for parking. Will try and get pictures on my daily trek to Sally's today.

I took some overhead shots from the adjacent parking ramp - this is a pretty dull design, but its impact on the street and new feeling of density of Stadium Village will be pretty nice.

http://tomabouttown.wordpress.com/2012/ ... ashington/

this is a pretty dull design

I think it has a quiet elegance compared to some of the overly-busy garbage that's been put up lately. Yes, I'm looking at you, FLOCO.

And this

The crane for this one is up!

Full-size tower or mini?