By Staff
Former lumber mill to see plenty of poles
By PETER WILLIAMS
Editor
A virtual forest of more than 1,900 pilings will be driven into the ground over the next eight weeks to provide the foundation for the first phase of the Moss Landing condominium project in Washington.
A 119-ton pile driver began setting wooden poles late this week for the foundations of the first 11 buildings. Just six buildings — two villas and four townhouses — will be built in the first phase. The extra pilings will be used for later phases.
The massive machine can drive a piling every eight minutes, said Michael Overton, the project manager. The machine starts with an auger that drills a hole and places the pole. It is then pounded into place. A total 1,915 pilings are involved in the first phase of construction. The poles will be driven between 20 and 45 feet deep.
Seismic sensors will monitor how much ground vibration is created during the process, said Stanley Friedman, manager of The Progress Companies, the developer. Nearby homes have already been surveyed to document that any foundation problems they have were there before Moss Landing construction started, he said.
The current work is focused in an area at the foot of Academy Street. The entire Moss Landing site stretches along Water Street from the North Carolina Estuarium east to McNair Street.
The first units should be finished by spring 2008.
From 1895 until 1992, the property was home to the Moss Planing Mill. In May 2003, developers bought the land from the city. A groundbreaking for Moss Landing was held in September of last year and some site work was started but soon stopped.
Friedman took the reins of the development in December and vowed to get the project on track.
Each of the villas will have seven residential units. The townhouses have either two or three units.
When complete, Moss Landing will feature 87 units and 92 boat slips. The project includes walkways that will extend from the mainland over the city wetlands project and connect to an existing public boardwalk. The boardwalk will remain open to the public.