Alec Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I recently saw a soil testing truck doing its thing on the oddly shaped lot to the west of the Broadstone 3800 project on Alabama. Does this suggest a builder has pretty serious plans for that location? Or could it just be the land owner looking to better describe his merchandise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I know nothing about the tract you're talking about, but I would venture to guess that it's one of two things: a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (testing for possible contaminants) or a geotechnical investigation for foundation/pavement/utility design. Either way, you don't spend money doing this testing if you're going to do nothing with the land. I'm less familiar with Phase II ESA than geotech investigations, but Phase II ESA would be done prior to a real estate transaction if a Phase I ESA indicated there's a likely potential for soil/groundwater contamination from previous activities at or near the site. It's important that a potential purchaser/lender know whether they're buying a contaminated site that they could potentially cause them to be liable for damages and/or remediation. On the other hand, it could be a geotechnical investigation, which indicates that engineering design is imminent/ongoing. Typically you don't do a geotech investigation until you have a plan of proposed improvements. The depth and location of the geotechnical borings depend on what is being proposed. For pavement design, it may be fairly shallow bore, and borings for utilities need to extend deeper than the proposed utility. Boring depths for a structural foundation would depend on the type of structure and foundation planned. Could go anywhere from 5' deep to well over 100' deep depending on the type of foundation and structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Broadfoot Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 That brings to mind the other day I saw several soil testing trucks in the parking lot across the street from Franks Pizza (corner of Prairie and Travis). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 That brings to mind the other day I saw several soil testing trucks in the parking lot across the street from Franks Pizza (corner of Prairie and Travis). That's the site for the proposed Stream Essex tower: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27885-50-story-international-tower-by-streamessex/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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