Friday, February 5, 2010

Downtown Brooklyn Post Office / Courthouse STILL Being Renovated

Construction of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Downtown Brooklyn started in 1885 and seemingly has continued to this day.

The latest major renovation of the post office was completed in 2003 and renovation of the adjoining Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse was finished in the summer of 2005, at a total cost of $200 million. It's a beautiful renovation, btw. You can read about it here. (Interesting factoid: Two construction officials pleaded guilty in 2003 to taking bribes from a contractor working on the renovation job.)

The scaffolding never disappeared from the front of the courthouse / post office, however, because apparently pieces of the façade keep falling off. Lately, the entire building has been covered in scaffolding sheathed with a white shroud.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the present work is a $100-million façade and roof repair job, expected to be completed in 2013. Design work on “greening” the building ($58 million) is also underway and expected to be completed in 2012.

Are we done yet? Almost -- although about a month ago the GSA awarded a tiny little $99,000 contract to Bolyard Peck McDonough to replce older components with more energy-efficient components.

Photo by MK Metz
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.

No comments: