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Here Comes the Sun: Ciminelli's SolarCity Project

By Peter Maloney

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — In the course of preparing the RiverBend site, workers unearthed relics from the site�s past as a steel factory, such as the remains of this turbine.

Photo Courtesy of LPCiminelli

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — SolarCity�s new solar panel factory will stretch over one- third of a mile.

Image Courtesy of EYP Architecture and Engineering

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — Workers poured more than 57,000 cu yd of concrete for a foundation slab that is 8 to 19 in. thick and supported by 6,000 pilings.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Buyskes, Onion Studios

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — The SolarCity factory will sit on a bend in the Buffalo River that was occupied by a Republic Steel complex.

Photo Courtesy of LPCiminelli

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — Tight deadlines remained in place even though the size of the project increased fivefold.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Buyskes, Onion Studios

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — LPCiminelli drilled about 6,000 holes to set pilings to anchor the building�s slab in the sandy silt of the RiverBend site.

Photo Courtesy of LPCiminelli

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015 — One of the industrial artifacts unearthed in excavating the old Republic Steel site was a boxcar that was used for moving iron ore.

Photo Courtesy of LPCiminelli

In the greenspace bordering the factory, LPCiminelli intends to display the artifacts of the company’s excursion into industrial archaeology of the site and region. The greenspace will include displays of ore cars, turbines, and ingots.

“Steel is our backbone,” says Peter Cutler, a spokesman for Empire State Development.

The city is proud of its industrial past, even as it looks forward to a more high-tech and green future.

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