Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NILES — The sounds of construction that have remained consistent through downtown Niles will come to pause soon. The Post Office Apartments that were set to continue construction this spring are in the process of making sure that the work that is done so far is secure, before workers leave the site to comply with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s latest executive order.

The Post Office Apartments under construction on Main Street in downtown Niles is overseen by General Capital Group in Fox Point, Wisconsin. Sig Strautmanis of General Capital Group gave an update to the progress of the affordable housing apartments and their slowed projected finish date.

“At this point, we are only doing what would be considered safety and weatherization work that is allowed under the executive order 2020-21,” Strautmanis said. “Before that, we were waiting for clarification to understand if affordable housing would be exempt under the order.”

After the order was issued, and the company learned that housing construction was not exempt, the group changed course to protecting what was already built.

“What you’re seeing on-site right now is just buttoning up the site so that nobody gets hurt, protecting against vandalism,” Strautmanis said. “The weatherization piece is that so there’s not a lot of moisture damage that will later cause a big problem for the project.”
Staurtmanis was optimistic on outlooks for construction continuing forward in other states where General Capital Group has construction in process, such as Illinois and Wisconsin. With Detroit being an area of great concern in Michigan due to a high number of reported COVID-19 cases, the Michigan projects have not been so lucky.

“The governor [Whitmer] was and is being super cautious, and therefore said that construction, specifically housing construction, is not exempt,” Strautmanis said.

The apartments have their footing and foundations finished, and the next planned step in the process planned was the pre-case plank that would cover the parking garage. After that finished, the vertical construction was set to begin. Those plans have all halted as windows are being put in to protect the already finished portions as the workers ready to leave the site.

Leaving the site puts the construction workers’ jobs on pause, and Strautmanis acknowledges that everyone is going to feel the halt.

“Basically, when you lose a week in the construction industry, it’s probable that you’re going to lose two or more weeks in the field,” Strautmanis said. “To remobilize and get people back on-site, and to get materials and buyers back in your queue takes time. At this point, we don’t know what that looks like. We feel that everyone is eager to get back to work, when it’s safe.”

Workers currently working on-site are taking precautions to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines. Workers across General Capital Group are taking their temperatures before entering their work sites.

“We’re just hoping that we can resume construction as soon as possible,” Strautmanis said. “But we are going to abide by all of the appropriate orders.”