Dozens of concrete trucks are invading downtown Cincinnati Sunday as the massive foundation is laid for the city's newest and tallest skyscraper.
The Great American Tower at Queen City Square will be 41 stories high; nearly 50 feet higher than Carew Tower. The top of the building will look like a tiara, a fitting crown sitting atop the Queen City.
Susie Porter of Wyoming brought her 4-year-old grandson to the site to watch the concrete trucks Sunday afternoon. "We watched them tear the building down and watched them dig a hole so we had to watch the foundation being poured, and we'll watch it be built every time we come down. It's just real exciting" said Porter.
John Perkins, who works in construction, says he saw the five pumpers in the air and had to pull over and take a look. "It doesn't happen but probably every 10 or 15 years in Cincinnati so it's a big thing for any construction guys to see, it's pretty cool" said Perkins.
The section of Third Street from Broadway to Main Street, and Sycamore Street from Third to Fourth Street will be closed until 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Pouring the foundation is a 12-hour job, involving 100 construction workers and dozens of concrete trucks.
The mat footing will be six feet thick and made of 7,000 cubic yards of special, high strength 8,000 psi (pounds per square inch) concrete.
According to Baker Concrete, the subcontractor responsible for the concrete pour, one concrete truck will arrive and one will depart the project every minute throughout the project.
The Queen City Square Tower project is an office, parking and retail development that is being built along Sycamore Street between Third and Fourth streets. The project will include a 1,700 car parking garage on 11 levels, a 33-level office tower above the garage, and a pedestrian promenade.
