You pull into Burley Farms and park off to the side in the new (temporary) parking area for the Burley Farms trail system. It's a warm August day, as the region tries to stay cool during a mini-heat wave. You walk up the road to the construction area (donning your hardhat of course) and suddenly pause to take in the sight before you.
Whoa.
The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature is taking shape!
The framing is nearly complete - all that remains is the roof!
It's been a month of high-end, high-efficiency construction, as our friends at Chapman Construction/Design have hit their schedule down to the day. You chat with Dan, the Senior Construction Supervisor for Chapman who has run point on the project since the beginning, and relay your amazement at the progress that has happened within a month and some change.
He is certainly pleased, especially considering the multitude of curve balls Mother Nature uncorked during this summer: oppressive blast furnace temps giving way to full-on torrential downpours, mixed with seemingly interminable stretches of steady precipitation. Not the ideal weather for a soup-to-nuts construction endeavor to be sure; but these guys kept the momentum moving.
The future welcome area
It's happening; it's coming together! The promise of seven years worth of planning, finally realized.
As your eyes play over the structure before you - and your imagination fills in the door and window frames - a vision of what will be in a few short months springs forward. And it's awesome.
