I’m always in awe

I try to keep tabs on them all. These days, I spend the most time watching the huge (for Redwood City) ELCO Yards project. That project, which will ultimately consist of four large office buildings and two large multifamily residential buildings on six contiguous blocks, is well underway, with the four office buildings being constructed simultaneously. The parcels for the two residential buildings are serving as staging sites for the office projects; once those parcels are no longer needed for temporarily storage of materials and equipment, the two seven-story apartment buildings should then be constructed.

I watched with interest the demolition of the buildings that originally stood on the six parcels comprising ELCO Yards. Although the process appeared fairly straightforward, when I really gave it some thought, I realized a lot of skill and advance planning went into what on the surface was just a hydraulic excavator chewing its way into a building. The operator can’t just pick a random spot and start ripping the building apart. They need to understand where and exactly when parts of the building will fall, thereby keeping things safe while ensuring the efficient removal of the resulting debris. Because that debris needs to be sorted for recycling, thoughtful demolition is needed to simplify the sorting process.

With the properties cleared, it was time to excavate for the three subterranean parking garages: two of the office buildings will have dedicated garages, while the two located between Main Street and the Caltrain tracks will share one giant garage. Even something seemingly as simple as digging a large hole turns out to not be that simple. For one thing, because these garages are nearly as large as the entire city block upon which they are located, the hole can be no larger than the garage itself. To keep surrounding soil from simply collapsing into the hole — and thereby undermine the surrounding sidewalks and streets — the underground garage’s side walls have to be constructed incrementally, as the hole is being dug. And given the relatively high water table in that part of Redwood City, all that had to be done while water from the surrounding soil tried to pour into the hole.

Parking garages are mostly made from concrete, as can be large parts of the buildings that rise above them. That concrete is poured in place, meaning that skilled workers need to construct forms that will hold the liquid concrete until it has set. Before those forms are constructed, however, complex structures made from metal rods — rebar — are either set in place or constructed in place and then enclosed by those forms. That rebar becomes embedded within the appropriate concrete floor, wall or pillar, providing strength in ways that concrete alone does not possess.

Modern buildings like these often use many steel components, each custom-made elsewhere and then trucked to the site. These are then installed by trained steelworkers who rather quickly, yet safely, bolt, weld and otherwise fasten the pieces together. So far, the ELCO Yards buildings seem to be primarily made from concrete, but other Redwood City projects, including the Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center (at Red Morton Park) and the five-story, 234,000-square-foot life-science building at 200 Twin Dolphin Drive (in Redwood Shores), have structures made primarily from steel.

I am in awe of the many skilled tradespeople who create new buildings like these. And with complex projects like ELCO Yards, I am amazed by the amount of behind-the-scenes planning and coordination that clearly is involved. Dump truck after dump truck arrived on-site just before the excavation crews were ready for them, in a well-coordinated ballet. Ditto with the train of cement mixers. Loads of rebar, wood (mostly for the concrete forms), and other materials seemed to arrive not long before they were needed, as did the various work crews themselves, who came in sufficient quantities and at the right times to keep the work humming along. Undoubtedly, there have been small hitches along the way, but from the standpoint of an outside observer, the steady progress that has been made since the first building was demolished (the old Towne Ford showroom, as I recall) has been a real spectacle.

To everyone involved in this massive enterprise, I salute you. And I look forward to watching this project proceed toward completion over the next few years.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.