The old East Towne Mall was reduced to a pile of rubble. And hauled away. That was followed by heavy site grading and drainage work. Later some ground level (hard-to-see) concrete and steel work took place. What exactly were they doing?
Last week, the answer was clear.
A building is born. The scene this past weekend at the former East Towne mall.
A large crane raised enormous concrete segments to make the outer shell of a 3-story building the size of a football field. Instant Amazon was on.
The concrete walls were shored up with temporary steel braces from the inside, awaiting the roof and other stabilizing structures. Note the photo of comparable pre-fab walls for an Amazon warehouse in California.
The fulfillment center project appears to be on schedule to open in 2021.
This video shows similar construction in California. Workers poured concrete walls on site, on the ground, then lifted them in place with a crane.
Nick Della Volpe is a lawyer, a gardener and a former member of Knoxville City Council.