Work to begin Monday, July 16, 2012

Public Improvements Scheduled for Public Lots Ferguson (11) & Pond (12)

Work to begin Monday, July 16^th

The City of DeKalb is preparing for the next round of downtown public improvements.  Work in the Ferguson (lot 11) and Pond (lot 12) public lots is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 16.  Ferguson and Pond are located off Girard, south of Rosita’s and east of Lothson’s. As always communication will be a critical element.  Re:New DeKalb is committed to providing business/property owners with up to date information and assistance throughout this project. To keep business/property owners informed Re:New DeKalb will post regular updates on our construction blog, send out email notifications and coordinate with the local media to ensure the public is informed about access and encouraged to keep visiting our businesses during construction.  The construction blog can be accessed directly from our website www.renewdekalb.com.  In addition to the City of DeKalb Engineering Department & the RNDK office will also serve as a point of communication for business/property owners throughout the project. If you have questions about the project please contact Lindsey at Re:New DeKalb, 815-748-7788 lindsey@renewdekalb.com or Michael Bauling, City of DeKalb Project Implementation Engineer at 815-748-2030.

This project will include resurfacing of both lots, new lighting, landscaping to include trees, shrubs and planters, as well as curb and sidewalk repair.  We know these lots are important to your business and customers. Construction is to be staged so that potions of the lots remain open as work is taking place.  Lots will remain open at the end of each day. 

Estimated Schedule Starting July 16, 2012
*work on Lots 11&12 will happen simultaneously
*Schedule subject to change-please keep in mind all work is weather dependent.

• July 16-20: Remove existing lighting and replace with temporary lighting
This will require some parking spot closures as they remove current poles and install temporary lighting.
• July 23-24: Concrete Removal
Sidewalk along the west side and in the median of lot 11 will be removed. There is a small amount of walk to be removed on the north side of Girard.  Concrete islands in lot 12 will be removed. 
• July 25-29: Conduit Instillation
Conduit for new lighting will be installed in both lots
• August 3-4: Concrete Replacement
Business entrances should not be impacted by concrete replacement.  Sidewalks will not be usable until concrete has cured.   
• August 6-9: Mill, Pave & Stripe Lots
• Partial closures will be required as lots are milled, paved and striped. Milling & Paving will be done scheduled as to not disrupt business.  Work will probably be done early in avoid disruptions in business parking. 
• October: Landscaping & Permanent Lighting
Landscaping will include trees, various bushes and plantings similar to those in lots public lots 2 & 3 and will be installed in October.  Permanent lighting will be installed in October as well. 

Work to resume in Lots 2 & 3

Re:New DeKalb was informed that paving will take place next week in public lots 2 & 3 in downtown DeKalb.  Last fall the City of DeKalb began public improvements in these two lots.  Improvements included upgraded lighting, storm sewer repair, sidewalk repair and new landscaping including trees, bushes and plantings.  The cold weather did not allow for paving to take place during the fall. 

Work will resume in public lots 2 & 3 on Tuesday, May 15^th and is expected to take 3 days, weather permitting. A 3 day closure of Lots 2 & 3 is required to complete the work.  The work schedule is below.  As always, if you have questions or concerns please contact Lindsey Engelsman, Re:New DeKalb at 815-748-7788 or Mike Bauling, City of DeKalb at 815-748-2030.

Monday, May 14: Barricades will be placed near the entrances of lots 2 & 3 on Monday morning to post the upcoming lot closure on 5/15, 5/16 & 5/16. 

Tuesday, May 15: Crews will start with milling in lot 3 and then move over to lot 2 to begin milling in the late morning. 

Wednesday, May 16: Crews will complete cleaning in both lots, prime & pave.

Thursday, May 17: Crews will finish any paving and stripe parking spaces in both public lots 2 & 3.

Nearing The Home Stretch

Work will be wrapping up for the season within the next few weeks in Public lots 2 & 3. There is still a bit of landscaping work that needs to be done including stone walking paths in the islands and a few additional plantings. The trees and larger plants are in and they look fantastic. Light poles should start to go up later this week; the refurbished poles are going to look great on the new decorative concrete bases. Once the landscaping and lighting is completed we are left with only needing to mill, pave and stripe. Unfortunately milling, paving and striping is going to have to wait until the spring of 2012. Temperatures are already below the minimum temperature required to pave. By the end of this week both lots 2 & 3 and Grove Street will be patched where underground work was completed for lighting and storm sewer work.
The lots will be open and cleaned-up for the Downtown Hollyday Open Houses this weekend.
Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation as improvements are being made.
As always if you have questions or concerns please contact Joel Maurer, Engineer for the City of DeKalb at 815-748-2000 or Lindsey Engelsman at the Re:New DeKalb office at 815-748-7788.

Trees, Trees & More Trees

The landscapers are here today working in lots 2 & 3. They are hard at work planting trees and other plants in the lot as well as finishing it off with a layer of mulch. We love days like today when a lot of visible changes are being made in the lots! Also in the next few days you should begin to see the refurbished light poles from Lincoln Hwy being installed onto the new concrete light bases. After that will be milling, paving and striping.
Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation as improvements are being made.
As always if you have questions or concerns please contact Joel Maurer, Engineer for the City of DeKalb at 815-748-2000 or Lindsey Engelsman at the Re:New DeKalb office at 815-748-7788.

and we're walking....

Things in Public lots 2 & 3 will begin to take a more visual turn over the next few work days.
There are crews here today forming up where the new concrete for the curbs and sidewalks will be poured. The plan is to pour on curbs and concrete on Friday and Monday (as long as the rain stays away).
Lighting is coming along....all concrete light bases have been poured and are curing. Watch for light poles to be installed on the bases soon. The light poles will look familiar as they are the poles that were on Lincoln Hwy. They've been re purposed and will be installed on the new concrete bases.
Landscaping will begin to be installed next week was well. This project includes a lot of landscaping on the perimeter of the lots as well as in what were the concrete islands.
Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation as improvements are being made.
As always if you have questions or concerns please contact Joel Maurer, Engineer for the City of DeKalb at 815-748-2000 or Lindsey Engelsman at the Re:New DeKalb office at 815-748-7788.

Moving Right Along

Things are moving right along in Lots 2 & 3. Virgil Cook & Sons continues to work at installing all the necessary underground work for the new lighting and expect to begin pouring concrete bases later this week in both Lots 2 & 3. Along with concrete bases comes replacement of concrete sidewalks and curbs!
Storm Sewer work is scheduled to begin in Lot3 this Thursday, October 13th. Because of where the storm sewer is located this work will require a closure on Grove St. between 4th and 3rd Streets. Work is expected to take one day.
Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation as improvements are being made.
As always if you have questions or concerns please contact Joel Maur, Engineer for the City of DeKalb at 815-748-2000 or Lindsey Engelsman at the Re:New DeKalb office at 815-748-7788.

Out With The Old

We are moving right along with improvements in Public Lots 2 & 3. The old lighting has been removed in both lots and temporary lighting has gone up. You can expect continued work this week in both lots by Elliott and Wood on the removal of concrete in the medians and portions of sidewalks around the lots. Virgil Cook will be busy this week in lot 3 with underground work for the permanent lighting. You can expect partial lot closures while both crews are working, but will still be able to access portions of the lot.
As always if you have questions or concerns please contact Joel Maur, Engineer for the City of DeKalb at 815-748-2000 or Lindsey Engelsman at the Re:New DeKalb office at 815-748-7788.