CBD build reaches vertical milestone
Invercargill’s city block development has reached a new milestone, with the first vertical panels being placed.
Six panels, each 16 metres tall and weighing 39 tonnes, were erected on Tuesday, along the side of the old Southland Times building facade on Esk St.
The panels will make up the four-floor structure of the building, with the first floor being 6 metres up from ground level.
Invercargill Central project director Geoff Cotton said the vertical structure was the first step towards the completion of the project.
The first columns were a complicated part of the build because they had to be put together with the old Southland Times facade. The sooner the team could get to the roofing stage of the building, the better it would be for the project, Cotton said.
Along with the panels, a second crane has arrived that is capable of lifting 400 tonnes and has been used to put up wind turbines. The crane will take 17 truckloads to bring on site.
Cotton expected the Farmers building, the car parking buildings, and 30 per cent of the tenancies would be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
ABL Construction director and general manager Michael Johnson said if people thought the 250-tonne green crane already on the site was big, they should wait to see the second crane.
Finishing the groundwork, which had enabled the panels to go vertical, was a significant milestone, Johnson said.
After columns are placed and supported, they are connected together with precast beams and then tied together when the concrete floor is poured.
Because the car-parking building will be made up of nine sections that are to be built at separate times, multiple floor levels would be developed at a time, Johnson said.
Column installation will commence early next month, with the first floor slab planned for pouring just before Christmas, he said.