Apart from the construction of the buildings themselves, Upton called communication a key to project success. One example, he said, was keeping neighbors informed about scheduling 25 to 30 concrete pours. A couple had to go as late as 9 p.m.
He could recall only one that fell through the cracks and led to concern. “When neighbors know, they can feel better about it,” he said.
Barry, the head of SNAC, the group representing neighbors, said:
“The biggest problem from the site is early starts — big equipment moving and making noise before 7 a.m. However, Jake and Rick have been all over the contractors about this, doing random spot checks, etc., to help fix that concern. Things are going as well as they can, and communication with/from Jake is superb. Same with Rick now that he’s on board.”
Asked about environmental issues at the site, Upton said the state Department of Environmental Protection “closed out on them years ago” and continues to monitor them, he said. For example, JPI, the former developer that went bankrupt after demolishing the hospital in 2008, found as many as six underground storage tanks for gas, which had to be removed. In addition, “elevator juice,” chemicals that had leaked, had to be remediated.
Here’s some Symmes project news that the public can expect in the new year:
* A new, larger sign announcing the project near Summer Street and the current Hospital Road is expected in February.
* Streets to and inside the project, including Hospital Road, are expected to be renamed.
* Two proposed parks will be renamed — one for Hattie Symmes, daughter of Stephen Symmes, who donated the money to start the hospital, which opened in 1912; and one for Nora Brown, long a resident nurse there.
This story was published Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. The Advocate published its story about the same subject on Jan. 2, 2013.
