Singo's tower AKA Bonython Tower

All photos on this page taken Saturday 17th of March 2018.

The residential tower clad in blue, the Mann Street frontage in the red circle.

The Bonython Tower site, Singo's tower, from Showground Road, right next to the railway station.

There was a much better photo to be had from this photo spot about a week ago. It would have shown a clear shot of the workers preparing for a concrete pour but I missed the narrow window of opportunity for that photo. Only the crane operator and passing aircraft will get that view from now on, now the tower's so high.

It was not very long ago, perhaps only a month ago, that I was taking my photos from the rooftop carpark of the Imperial shopping centre and looking straight across to the workers at the same level. The 3 floors after that have gone up so quickly. Another couple of months and the construction crew will have done their bit and will be moving on to the next building site, wherever that may be.

Part of the reason they're getting the floors up so fast now is that there's little variation in the floors of the residential tower, whereas each floor below it was different and was wider and longer too.

This is the first time I've seen one of these decks on the Bonython Tower site. The Batley Road site, on the corner of Donnison Street East in West Gosford, has had them for a couple of months.

They look very handy for holding smaller materials for those working on the insides of buildings. I noticed work starting on the inside of the Bonython Tower on the 7th of March, when the blue mesh came off the Mann Street front of the building.

What's been going on inside the lower floors since the blue mesh came off the Mann Street frontage. The ground floor, this one we see here, is the restaurant level. Above it an office level and above it, immediately below the residential tower, is the residents' carpark level. Access to the carpark will be through Paul Lane, at the back of the site, and via a car-carrying elevator.

This site has become very hard to photograph since the residential tower started to rise and it will only get harder to photograph. That means very few more opportunities to photograph anyone but the scaffold-builder at work. I'll miss all those great photos of fluoro work shirts against the grey concrete and Gosford's blue skies. It's been great photographing you, gentlemen, and I hope to see some of you on other local sites soon, including Elysium at Terrigal. Meanwhile, I'll keep snapping away at the Singo tower until you've topped out and then until the fitters-out have finished inside and the residents move in.

 Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford

For the last couple of weeks I've been putting out the call for local tradies to email me their work contact details and what sort of work they do for a free listing on this website and, when I get the time to add to it again, on my other site: Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford.

And I've just realised I left out a whole slab of local contractors and businesses and makers and growers by just calling for tradies. So any locally owned business or any local maker or grower can send me their work contact details and a bit about their work or business or agri-business. Tell me as much as you can and I'll edit it down so everyone gets around the same amount of screen space as everyone else.

It's FREE but it's for small and medium sized LOCALS ONLY. None with ownership outside the NSW Central Coast and its hinterland suppliers.

Kendall Street Gosford

 Icon 

The Icon site in Kendall Street still powering ahead, 12th March 2018

The Icon site had 5 floors on the 28th of February 2018 and now has 6 floors. Frankly, with the crowding in this street, a narrow old street with a steep drop-away on the Gosford side, I'm surprised work on Icon and Vue goes ahead as fast and steadily as it does.

Today there's no photo of deliveries and workers at the other end of this site, due to an access issue at the time.

 Vue

Crane footings locked in on the Vue site, 12th March 2018

Crane footings locked and loaded and ready for the crane that will lift the big loads materials into this site. When it’s up, this crane will make two cranes, one on each site, in this quite short street on the hillside on the west side of the small narrow town that is Gosford. Things are changing so fast in our little town.

Lighter spoil being removed at the front of the site, 12th March 2018

The lighter loads of spoil, the ones with the smaller rocks, still being loaded into dump trucks at the front of the site. I was passed by 4 dump trucks leaving the site in the 5 minutes it took me to walk to it.

Digging down at the back of the site, 12th March 2018

At the back of the site, there was a deep juddering noise as this earthmover scraped into the ground with its teeth to break it up. Spending all day in the cab of this earthmover, with that juddering a part of the job, must be very wearing and I don't imagine it's much fun for anyone else on or near the site. I was very glad to get away from it.

Big boulders being loaded into a dump truck, 12th March 2018

And what was in that ground at the back was some very big rocks. The driver for the lighter spoil stayed in his cab during loading. But this driver very wisely got out. From where I stood, I could see the massive impact of each big rock dropping into the tray of the truck.

 Extra

I am slowly but surely putting together a list of all the locally owned businesses and locally made goods on the NSW Central Coast. Listings are free and will go online, on this website and on Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford.

By 'locally' I mean living locally, on the NSW Central Coast, if you are a tradie or business owner and made locally if you are supplying goods and/or services.

If you are a local tradie, local business owner, or supplier of locally made goods, please email me your business contact details to be included in my free listings. The only catch is that it's for LOCALS ONLY.

 Extra extra

Showground Road demolition has begun, 12th March 2018

Demolition starting on the two old houses opposite the railway station on Showground Road. The house under demolition is partly obscured by the palm tree. The station can be seen along the bottom half of this photo.

This site now being active makes 10 active building sites in the 5 minute drive from Fielder Street in West Gosford to Lynn Avenue in Point Frederick.

I’m going to get busier and busier with each new site. So, over the next few weeks, I'll be working out a new schedule of taking the photos and then putting them up on this website.

And, for the second time today, my apologies for any strange gaps, under-sized type, changing fonts/typefaces and anything else that turns up. Blooger/blogspot code is once again misbehaving.

Fielder Street

An artist's impression, 12th March 2018

An artist’s impression of the site in Fielder Street West Gosford when it's finished.

Once again, my apologies for any tiny type, font/typeface changes, strange gaps or other untidiness on this page. The Blogger/blogspot code is playing up again.

Level with the street at the front, digging down at the back, 12th March 2018

Digging down to the basement level, no doubt for a residents’ carpark. This site has come a long way in a couple of weeks.

Digger at rest during smoko, 12th March 2018

More of those strange patches of the orange clay amongst the white clay.

Offices, equipment & materials stacked neat & ready, 12th March 2018

This looks like mostly concrete pouring materials stacked up, on the other part of the site.


 Extra

Yattalunga & Saratoga from Koolewong, 12th March 2018

Green Point, Yattalunga and Saratoga from the Koolewong foreshore path. That’s the path that goes all the way from Gosford Yacht Club to Umina Beach.


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 Tradies & other site workers

I am slowly but surely putting together a list of all the locally owned businesses and locally made goods on the NSW Central Coast. Listings are free and will go online, on this website and on Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford.

By 'locally' I mean living locally, on the NSW Central Coast, if you are a tradie or business owner and made locally if you are supplying goods and/or services.

If you are a local tradie, local business owner, or supplier of locally made goods, please email me your business contact details to be included in my free listings. The only catch is that it's for LOCALS ONLY.

Bonython Tower AKA Singo's tower

Across the old low rooftops to the Bonython Tower site, 7th March 2018

Bonython Tower on Mann Street Gosford. All photos on this page taken 7th of March 2018.
Few words this week. Today is just all the best photos with their captions. With more building sites becoming active in this last couple of weeks, I may have to be very brief with the words for all sites in future. We’re still in the very early stages of this big change to our little old town and it can only get busier for this photographer.

Blue mesh gone from Mann Street's lower frontage, 7th March 2018

Residential tower in blue mesh rising above its neighbours, 7th March 2018

 

Health & Safety checks on the street, 7th March 2018

Strategy meeting before harness work, 7th March 2018

Harness worker checking before doing, 7th March 2018

Hooked on & climbing through, 7th March 2018

Many locals watch site progress from Kibble Park, 7th March 2018

William Street overflow of deliveries, 7th March 2018

One day I saw 4 or 5 concrete delivery trucks lined up waiting in William Street. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a snap that day.

The gate giving onto Paul Lane is a safe niche to take photos from, 7th March 2018

Neat & busy in Paul Lane, 7th March 2018

Sometimes, when the Paul Lane traffic slows down, I can get further down the lane for a different angle, sometimes it's just too busy.

My favourite crane so far hard at work, 7th March 2018

Residential tower from Imperial Centre's roof carpark, 7th March 2018

5 cranes in one photo, 7th March 2018

Crane locations, from left to right:

Harbour View at Wilhelmina Street West Gosford (right on left edge of trees, biggest hole so far)

Batley Street, building name unknown (partly obscured, just below tiny red arrow)

Donnison Street West (small block, big hole)

Icon on Kendall Street (Vue site has no crane yet on 7th March 2018)

 
Photo uploading Blogger/blogspot glitches defeated for another week and all this week's Bonython Tower photos up at last! The font glitches remain and no amount of re-doing will fix them. I hope next Friday is when the next set of Bonython Tower photos go up. I want the glitches gone and my schedule back on track.


 Extra 

Yacht racing at Gosford, late February 2018

There's nothing like messing about in boats on a warm sunny day.

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Hargraves Street

Tools down, 1st March 2018

I never seem to get to the Hargraves Street site until tools have been downed for the day. It’s so tucked away, off Kendall Street near the corner of Faunce Street West, and it’s a narrow one-way street too, so it’s practically invisible.
(There is nothing I can do about any strange gaps or tiny text, etc. on this page today. Blogger/blogspot is playing up again.)

The cage of foundations is moving along, 1st March 2018

At the front of the site, clearing continues. Meanwhile, the border foundations and walls have gone up at the back.

The steepest site in Gosford so far, 1st March 2018

The Hargraves Street site is the steepest building site in Gosford. It doesn’t look as steep in this photo as it does in real life. As well as being very steep, it’s also a rather awkward street to get machinery into and spoil out of and it will only get worse for the worker when the foundations go in and the building starts to rise.

According to its sign, it’s going to be another 7-storey apartment block and called ‘Skye’ like its twin immediately to the left of the site. That doesn’t sound very impressive compared to the mighty 15 storeys of the Bonython Tower on Mann Street or the double tower planned on the old Union Hotel site. But extra height is well and truly provided, to get those views, by the site being high up on the hillside of Presidents Hill (Waterview Park on many maps).

The views from Skye Part 2 will be east across Gosford to the wooded ridge of Rumbalara Reserve and north along the lovely Narara Valley. (Gosford sits at the mouth of the Narara Valley.)

Old steps up to an old house, 1st March 2028

Old garden wall of an old house, 1st March 2018

Old steps leading up to an old house, from the 1920’s – 1940’s judging by the stone used, and the old garden wall behind a lot of bits and bobs on the edge of the site.

Big old interlocking blocks of concrete, 1st March 2018

Big old blocks of concrete found on the site, with their crosses on top locking them together and their iron loops for the crane’s hook.

Small earthmover in the left background, pile-driver (I think) in the middle, 1st March 2018

Yellow pile-driver in front and a little earthmover behind.

Scoopers large & small, 1st March 2018

Scoopers large and small work day after day to clear sites of spoil and load it into trucks to be taken away. On sloping sites, there is so much more spoil to be shifted than on level ones.


I’ll come back to this site in a couple of weeks, due to the amount of spoil still to be removed. See you then, gentlemen.


 Extra

I am slowly but surely putting together a list of all the locally owned businesses and locally made goods on the NSW Central Coast. Listings are free and will go online, on this website and on Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford.

By 'locally' I mean living locally, on the NSW Central Coast, if you are a tradie or business owner and made locally if you are supplying goods and/or services.

If you are a local tradie, local business owner, or supplier of locally made goods, please email me your business contact details to be included in my free listings. The only catch is that it's for LOCALS ONLY.

Fielder Street West Gosford

Orange clay at Fielder Street site, 5th February 2018

The Fielder Street site in West Gosford, after years of weed-strewn idleness, has been cleared at last. Spoil has been dug out, exposing the lovely orange clay and strange spots of it in amongst the layer of white clay below it. And, if those re-bars sticking out of the soil (bottom of clay cut) are anything to go by, some boundary foundation piles have been poured too.

(I couldn't make the text the usual size or make the strange gaps go away. There is still something wrong with Blogger/blogspot.)

Tidying up around the edges, 5th February 2018

Frames for foundation pylons, 5th February 2018

Neatening up around the edges of the cage goes on, even as more foundation pillar frames are made.

Getting on with it, 5th February 2018

Over on the eastern edge of the site, preparation for concrete pours was in full swing, with lumber being sorted through and cut to size.

What on earth is she doing? 5th February 2018

This being a newly active site, my photography provoked the usual surprise, followed by the usual appreciation of being appreciated for work done and being done.

Is this a pump or an extractor? 5th February 2018

Gentlemen, I didn’t see this beast in action. Is it a pump or an extractor or does it do both at need?

Scoopers at rest for a moment, 5th February 2018

An idle moment as two spoil scoopers await directions. In the background, on the right edge of this photo, we can see the active site on the corner of Batley Street and Donnison Street West.

Lunchtime for all good machinery operators, 5th February 2018

 
In the background of this photo, we can see three blocks of units. The one on the left edge of the photo is a brand new build, finished just a few months ago and full of residents. The one in the middle background is still not quite finished inside, I think. It’s been such a slow site, at times, I haven’t checked up on it for a month. The one on the right is a few decades old, from the 1970’s or 1980’s.

There was a building boom in Gosford and around the Brisbane Water estuary in the 1970’s and there has been a steady trickle of new buildings, commercial and residential, ever since, with small blocks of units going up in the backstreets every now and then during that time.

Now we’ve come to another major building boom, the one of 2018’s Gosford tower blocks and smaller towers around the edges of Gosford. This one is going to make huge changes to the Gosford skyline.


 Extra

I am slowly but surely putting together a list of all the locally owned businesses and locally made goods on the NSW Central Coast. Listings are free and will go online, on this website and on Locally Owned Locally Made Gosford.

By 'locally' I mean living locally, on the NSW Central Coast, if you are a tradie or business owner and made locally if you are supplying goods and/or services.

If you are a local tradie, local business owner, or supplier of locally made goods, please email me your business contact details to be included in my free listings. The only catch is that it's for LOCALS ONLY.