Progress 6/25/09

I apologize. This week has been plagued with technical difficulties and it has been very hard to get these blog posts updated. I believe that I have all of the bugs (and equipment) have been worked out and am back on track. So much has been accomplished since my last full progress post. I will start at the bottom of the hill at Possum Holler Bed & Breakfast. The most exciting thing to me is that the roof is visible ALL the way out at the road. As you drive by please don't look to hard for it, I don't want to cause any accidents from rubberneckers. All joking aside, please do be careful. Anyway, the roof is up and they are working on building and putting plywood on the last slope, as of Thursday when I was there. On the inside most of the 'pick-up' work (this is all of the fire blocking and Sheetrock backing, fireplace boxes, etc.) is about finished. Before we know it we are going to have a roof on, windows set, and plumbers, electricians, and other tradesmen working hard on the inside.

Up the hill at the Bingo complex they are sweating their tails off out in the blazing sun. They are working extremely hard and most of the foundation work is complete. The footer wall now wraps around from the back, along the sides and they are working along the front of the building. It is hard for me to show in a blog and pictures how much work goes on at this sight because it is all undergroung, and some what tedious work. But, they are working fast and hard, and before we know it there is going to be steel being erected. Then things will get really fun to watch!

Manager's Residence

Being the the Possum Holler Bed and Breakfast is going to be a B&B it is going to have a live in staff. Ms. Cheryl who will be in charge of hospitality and Blaire have been hired to fill this position, and will be living in the manager's residence once the B&B is opened. Ms. Cheryl has recently gone through major knee surgery so there is a special request to post up a slide show to show what here new "home" is looking like. Enjoy, and Ms Cher we are praying for your speedy recovery!

Possum Holler B&B Video

This is where the Possum Holler B&B is as of 6/22/09. It is very exciting to see the progress and it is nice to see the layout. I hope you enjoy.

Labeled aerial view UPDATE

I had a number of request for some labels so we can see what is going in on the north section of the property. The north section is where phase one is being focused. Keep in mind that the south section is even bigger. Country Crossing is going to be HUGE!

I had a good chat today with Randy Robinson who is the Supervisor for Specialized Services, Inc. out of West Point, GA. They are the one's that are doing all of the site prep ie. moving dirt. I commented that they have moved a bunch of dirt quickly and he said, 'you haven't seen anything yet.' Specialized is used to doing HUGE projects like the Kia plant. He said that there is a ton of going on. The basic elivation grade is about finished and they are going to start in on the utilities. Randy also pointed out that I needed to shift a couple of my labels to get them a little more accurate. Thank you Randy. So here is version 2.0. I also got some pictures of the site plans for phase one and the whole project. I will get those up in the next little while.

Views from the Bed and Breakfast

I thought I would show some of the progress on moving dirt and the view from the B&B.

This is looking almost due west and this area is where the RV park will be. It is a beautiful little cove in the trees, down the hill in a quite spot, from the highway and the Bingo Hall.



When you turn and look almost due north this is where the amphitheater will go.

Bingo Pavilion 6-16

The working are still plugging away in the heat on the foundation. Most all of the pier points are now in and they are working on the footer trench along the back wall. This is the main part of the foundation that ties the pier points together and supports the back wall. While I was on site I briefly talked to the guy in charge of all of the steel structure (I'm sorry I forgot his name) that will be starting soon. They are very excited to get started and we will see some quick progress as the shell of the building is being put together.

Possum Holler Progress 6-16

There was a great deal of progress at the bed and breakfast. The most exciting thing is that the roof is going on. Today (Tuesday) they are working on all of the lower roof systems. Tomorrow the big crane will come out and they will set all of the big second story trusses. The Bed and Breakfast is really looking like a building now. All of the guest rooms are huge and I am having a hard time figuring out which one is my favorite. Let me tell you about the living room. The ceiling absolutely soars and the is a huge sitting area on the second floor that looks down into the living room area. The focal point of the living room will be a beautiful 6ft wide fireplace. George Jones is going to be very proud to put his name on this place. Spacious rooms with a cozy homey atmosphere.

Aerial Shots of the Country Crossing Site

I would like to thank Pam for setting up this flight so I could get some great aerial shots. The great part of doing aerial shots is that you can get a good over all perspective. The down side is there is no way to grasp the amount of dirt that has been moved in the last month and the amount of work that has gone into the foundation of the Bingo Complex. I am planning on taking one of the overall views and adding notes where the different things will be located. I want to verify a couple of details first and make sure I have it all straight.

Dirt being moved!

The amount of dirt that has been moved amazed me. They continue to grade and prep other sites all over. They even were grading one of the parking lots by the bingo hall today. You can really see were different things are going to go.

At the bed and breakfast steady progress has been made. Staircases are in, the second floor is sheeted and up, posts and beams have been placed, a lot of the tedious little things like blocking have been put in. We are pretty close to seeing a roof system put on.

Pier ponts EVERYWHERE!

They have been working like Crazy on all of the pier points. I was told that they worked straight through the weekend to make up for the days that the rain slowed things down. I counted about 25 people working very hard all over the pad. There are over 150 points in the bingo building and they are getting pretty close to getting them all done. You have to remember that these are not a quick one step, dig a hole and fill it with cement, process. The rebar cage is set and bolts are put in place, cement poured, cement dried, more rebar and forms go in, more cement........ And all of this has to be done in an exact location and exactly level. You would be AMAZED at how huge the stack of invoices are just from cement deliveries and the big slab pour is still aways off. The next big thing that we will see is structural steel being placed. That will be great we will see a massive building spring up rather quickly.

PR Trailer up and running!

The trailer is there and even though the electricity is not hooked up yet (they said that they were hoping to get it hooked up this afternoon) it is being staffed part time. Even if there is not someone in the trailer at the time, you can pick up an application from the security guard that is always there and drop it off in the slot on the door of the PR trailer. Again this is for general applications. You will need to apply again if a specific position is posted. I will try to keep updated with specific jobs that are being posted.