On Monday, a lane of traffic around the Fournet Building was blocked off as work began on the storefronts that line N Broadway. Contractors began placing the framing for the glass storefronts Monday and will work the next two weeks to install those storefronts.
Developer Jeff Evers said one lane of N Broadway will be blocked off all week for the installation of the storefronts and the steel support beams to be placed for the new skylight. “The storefronts start going in as of today,” said Evers. “The road will be blocked all week because of the steel structure coming for the skylight. That will be a few days. Things are exciting. Things are moving right along. We have the structure torn out for the skylight, so it’s wide open inside now.”
The support beams will run from the basement up to the rooftop of the Fournet Building and take several days to install. “This is where the steel structure will go all the way from the basement to the roof and then hold a rack the skylight will be on,” said Evers. “A bunch of steel beams. That’s what they’ll be working on in the next couple of days. Hopefully, that will be looking good by the end of the week. Things are moving along. It’s going to be pretty fun to see it as one big skylight instead of three little ones. It really opened it up a lot.”
Evers said he hopes to install the new 50-foot by 20-foot skylight by May. “We’re shooting tentatively for May 1 or before that,” said Evers. “We’ll see how things go. Obviously, it’s a special order, so it’s going to take a little time to build. Getting the steel in will be big and exciting to have that done now.”
The rest of the building’s work is also starting to pick up. Contractors for the fire suppression system, heating-ventilation-air conditioning, and electrical all working in the building. “The sprinkler people are getting their stuff done,” said Evers. “Electricians are getting a lot done. HVAC is starting to get going now. Things are moving along. All the trades are doing well, and they’ll be a lot of progress in the next few weeks. It is going to look really different here, coming up.”
