After the Storm...

Looking South toward the PPD Building. Our green grass was turning brown, hopefully the much needed rain last night will give us some color.
It's hard to get a true gauge as to how large the overall site without something identifiable next to the trees (some new buildings would be nice).
The City installed a few park benches along the RiverWalk. This one sits just under a large cypress tree.

April 2010 - The Aerials

New Aerials! Check out the following new pics of the Wilmington RiverFront Project.

I am always fascinated by these two shots (above and below), looking South, down the River and toward the Ocean. It is a great perspective of the many mature trees we have in Wilmington as well as a reminder that the re-development opportunities on the Northside will take much needed development pressure off of the Historic District.

Looking South, this is "closer up" - but still doesn't show the details of the site as well as I would like. For instance, the 11 live oaks planted along the boulevard are taller than the street lights!

Long shot looking North with the 200' PPD Tower on your right side.

If you look closely in the lower left corner you can see the City's new Front Street improvements just about finished (from Red Cross to the Parkway). It includes a landscaped median, new streetlights and LOTS of trees.

Handsome devils. Well behaved in the back seat of the Cessna (with a little help from their Nintendo DSI's). Nick, 9 (on the left), Lane, 7. Both need haircuts but were very patient while Dad and Steffen circled the RiverFront Site several times before heading down to Myrtle Beach for lunch and a "treat"

The "Stupid" Tax

This is a 'rotary broom' - it's like a street sweeper without the vacuum part. Better yet, operating it is much like 'reverse vacuuming' - unfortunately I know all of this because I spent two days in the drivers seat...

Why am I 'reverse vacuuming' for two days in the first place you ask? Well, let me start from the beginning:

I don't know about you but money has been a little tight around here lately. So I thought it would be a good idea to spend my weekend 'free time' by doing some work on the site myself.

Actually, this was more of a punishment, hence the "stupid tax" for failing to heed the Common Law of Business Balance:

"It's unwise to pay too much but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better!"

With a major site construction project like ours, you aren’t done until you've established grass.

Do you have any idea what seeding, mulching and crimping an acre costs? How about 6 acres?

I didn't either until I got the first set of quotes and was convinced that the recession applied to everyone but landscape contractors. Prices to seed the site were all in the 'five figure' range - no joke.

I mean really, how hard is it to put down some seed and straw for cryin' out loud?

And that was the point when I started to travel down an obvious path that drew me ever closer to the pending 'stupid tax' I was about to pay.

I called my lawn guy and told him I wanted to try a little experiment - "let's try just seeding the borders along the roads and maybe the grass will take root and regenerate the rest of the site. If it doesn’t work we can always seed some more in a few weeks."

How much? $1500. That still seemed like a lot but, "hey, maybe I'm the first guy to come up with this great idea - and besides I am saving thousands...!"

Well, they raked and planted seed. (No straw, I mean, what does straw really do anyway) and, as luck would have it, it was scheduled to rain later that week. The forecast also called for high winds. Oh good I thought, a little rain to get things growing and then some wind to keep the birds from eating the seed (?)

Well the rain came and the winds followed. I didn’t have to worry about birds because the wind was blowing so hard that several tons of seed-filled-dirt blew off the site and into the road. It was like a blizzard of sand – there were drifts! The curbs and gutters were filled to the brim; I didn’t even know where to start... what a mess!

(By the way, straw, when crimped into the ground provides, among other things, stabilization for both the seed and the soil from blowing away)

The site looked terrible. It was late Friday afternoon and since I created this disaster, I was going to clean it up.

Fortunately there is an equipment rental place near the site. I started with one of those back-pack-leaf –blower-things but after 45 minutes I had barely made a dent in moving the sand back to its rightful place. I returned the blower and asked for suggestions (hence the rotary broom).

Side note: Beyond the obvious, I learned that pretty much anyone can rent any piece of machinery if you act and talk like you know what you are doing. Kind of scary. Also, you will pay about half price for heavy rental equipment on the weekends as long as you promise to have it back by Monday morning before the pros will need it...

It took the whole weekend along with some manual shoveling help from my Dad (who was paying his own stupid tax for his portion of my genes) but the site looked great and by Monday afternoon I went ahead and hired a company to seed the site. Even though I still think it cost too much money; we should have a ‘good head of grass’ in a couple more weeks…. Don't worry, I'll post plenty of pictures!

"Up Close and Personal"

Thanks to my good friend (and new co-pilot), Steffen Kuronen, our new aerials were taken this morning.

He took some great shots and even though I know everyone LOVES the aerials, it just doesn't compare to actually walking the site and seeing it 'up close and personal'.

The major components of the site development are complete (paving, sidewalks, stormwater, etc) but we still have a few loose ends to work through - namely GRASS!

As Spring approaches, the details most important to the 'pedestrian experience' (like landscaping) will start to fall into place. With over 30 boats committed to the Marina and the RiverWalk complete, we have a lot of new visitors at the project.

It's tough to appreciate the scale and scope of the site from the air (everything looks so small) - but when you actually park the car and begin to walk the site do you realize that this project is more than just some land Downtown - it's practically it's own District!

January 2010 - Aerials

For the best resolution, please click on the actual picture for it to enlarge.

Great clear day looking South down the Cape Fear toward the Atlantic. The site is located in the center of this image.

Looking South, image taken over the terminus of the MLK Parkway.

Looking North East at 1100 feet above the Cape Fear. Note the new traffic circle at the base of Cowan Street at the far right side of the image.

That Last Day of School Feeling...

You know what I mean, that "no more pencils, no more books" feeling.

The sensation you get after you finish your very last exam - that feeling of relief. Not even concerned if you aced the test or got a C, it's that feeling of accomplishment that's hard to describe (and only comes around just a few times in life.)

This is different from, "what a long day, I think I'll have a cocktail feeling..."

It's that deep set emotion that comes from knowing you worked hard, kept your promises, not only 'showed up' but 'showed up prepared' and delivered your very best.

When I saw these bikes locked up on the RiverWalk one evening last week, with the boats resting in the backdrop, that same sense of pride, triumph, but most importantly, satisfaction was overwhelming.

Look at it through my eyes, someone who is thinking (all the time) how to create great places for people to live around Wilmington. Not once did I imagine my first residents would be actually living in the marina, on a boat!

And it didn't matter that this wasn't what I had initially planned when we started the project, the achievement was the same. Someone was calling this place home - and that is why I do this.

Our story will continue to unfold, and thus far, you have merely read the preface. The first chapter is coming, and if this project were a book, it wouldn't be just a 'best seller', it would be a 'classic' - one we are certain you will enjoy.

Star News Article December 18, 2009