Charlie West (Charles & Gaukel) | 31 fl | Complete

[Lens]

I saw a truck, a bulldozer, and a few workers on site this morning

[panamaniac]

Why would they be doing that if construction is to start in September?

[GtwoK]

Can't confirm what BrianT is saying, but today they were definitely making the lot nice and even with sand and small gravel, rolling it flat. Not sure why, especially if they stlll have all that soil remediation to do before construction can start

[KevinL]

Maybe the demolition firm is contracted to leave the site in a certain condition?

[Square]

Also isn't the SIXO delayed? I read that demolition of parts of the Kaufman mansion were to start last spring.

[GtwoK]

A ton of heavy equipment moved on site today, including a very large drill and some support tubing. I can't imagine these are for creating a parking lot. Would these even be used in soil remediation? They almost seem like they're likely to start building the underground parking structure soon

[Rainrider22]

A ton of heavy equipment moved on site today, including a very large drill and some support tubing. I can't imagine these are for creating a parking lot. Would these even be used in soil remediation? They almost seem like they're likely to start building the underground parking structure soon

Maybe they are playing with us!!!????

[ijmorlan]

A ton of heavy equipment moved on site today, including a very large drill and some support tubing. I can't imagine these are for creating a parking lot. Would these even be used in soil remediation? They almost seem like they're likely to start building the underground parking structure soon

Are the tubes caissons for the drill? Maybe they’ll start the excavation for the building but just redirect any soil that needs treatment to whatever treatment it needs. Dig it up just once.

If this is correct, most likely they’ll start by installing piles, probably massive vertical I-beams, around the outside using the caisson drill then dig down, installing wooden shoring as they go.

[GtwoK]

A ton of heavy equipment moved on site today, including a very large drill and some support tubing. I can't imagine these are for creating a parking lot. Would these even be used in soil remediation? They almost seem like they're likely to start building the underground parking structure soon

Are the tubes caissons for the drill? Maybe they’ll start the excavation for the building but just redirect any soil that needs treatment to whatever treatment it needs. Dig it up just once.

If this is correct, most likely they’ll start by installing piles, probably massive vertical I-beams, around the outside using the caisson drill then dig down, installing wooden shoring as they go.

Can't say I know what a caisson is, but the spiral drill piece fit almost perfectly inside the tubing. Definitely looked like pile-driving equipment

An aside: oh my god, I've just realized THAT'S where pile driving comes from!?

[ijmorlan]

Are the tubes caissons for the drill? Maybe they’ll start the excavation for the building but just redirect any soil that needs treatment to whatever treatment it needs. Dig it up just once.

If this is correct, most likely they’ll start by installing piles, probably massive vertical I-beams, around the outside using the caisson drill then dig down, installing wooden shoring as they go.

Can't say I know what a caisson is, but the spiral drill piece fit almost perfectly inside the tubing. Definitely looked like pile-driving equipment

An aside: oh my god, I've just realized THAT'S where pile driving comes from!?

Probably a caisson. A caisson is, uh, large tubing that fits almost perfectly around an augur (which is a spiral drill piece ). It holds back the surrounding soil during excavation. Once they have drilled down to the required depth, they pour it full of slurry (essentially concrete) and drop the I-beam in. Then pull the caisson out and proceed to the next pile. It’s also possible to drill a bunch of holes right next to each other, resulting in a continuous wall of slurry that looks a bit like a log cabin (except the round “logs” are vertical). This way no shoring is required. This is how the sides of the LRT tunnel under the expressway were done.

Pile driving means pounding the I-beam directly into the ground with a large (i.e., truck-sized) hammer.

[robdrimmie]

A ton of heavy equipment moved on site today, including a very large drill and some support tubing. I can't imagine these are for creating a parking lot. Would these even be used in soil remediation? They almost seem like they're likely to start building the underground parking structure soon

Are the tubes caissons for the drill? Maybe they’ll start the excavation for the building but just redirect any soil that needs treatment to whatever treatment it needs. Dig it up just once.

If this is correct, most likely they’ll start by installing piles, probably massive vertical I-beams, around the outside using the caisson drill then dig down, installing wooden shoring as they go.

There are several massive (well, they seem awfully big - 10m long and perhaps 1m wide? viewed from across the street and my spatial abilities are poor at best, so this is very much a ballpark) I-beams on the property as well, tucked up against the Manulife building. So this seems very likely.

[Watdot]

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...tos-988235

[Rainrider22]

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...tos-988235

Well that sure clears things up. Great to see this project getting started into the construction phase. If you want a good chuckle, and read the comment section below the article in the Kitchener News. Another negative comment from someone who likely hasn't been to DTK in years. I am done there on a regular basis and have no issues.

[tomh009]

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...tos-988235

A comment in the article says "They need to invest money into cleaning up downtown Kitchener. Its a crap hole down there. A shadow of what the downtown core used to be. A shame really, Kitchener could have such a nice welcoming downtown core."

Kitchener has been attempting a downtown revival since the 1960s, and in my opinion the downtown is nicer and more vibrant than it has been at any time in the last 40 years. Not sure what the commenter is thinking of, maybe in the 1930s it was better … ?

[panamaniac]

Many remember Downtown from the 1960s and 1970s, when it was still an important destination for retail and services and problems of homelessness and drugs were not as apparent.  Those seem to be the key features by which "nostaligiaists" judge the Downtown.  I have friends who sniff at Downtown to this day, somehow not grasping that it is no longer the city's retail hub and seriously put off by (i.e. afraid of) anything not middle class in appearance.  The restaurants, coffee houses, cultural amenities and events, and tech employment seem to have zero impact on that way of thinking.  For me, if I were obliged to live in the Kitchener suburbs and never spent time Downtown, I'd be looking to stick a sharp object into my neck ....