11th anniversary book 114 FINAL online - Flipbook - Page 27
Contamination at the Center
Shortly after the construction groundbreaking got underway, Círculo received the bad news. Car parts and
other metal was found in the soil at the construction site.
Círculo had contracted with several companies to do environmental testing throughout the ten years leading
up to the ground breaking. Phase I and Phase II environmental analyses were done which consisted of soil
borings and testing. No contaminants were found, therefore, the Círculo staff was not prepared when parts
of cars and other materials were discovered on the site. As the building was planned as a “green” Center, all
construction stopped while further testing and remediation occurred.
2008
2008 was fraught with many challenges for Círculo and the development of Evergreen.
Construction Delayed
Due to parts of cars and other metal that Círculo found at the construction site underneath a paved area that
had formerly been the parking lot for the post office many years earlier, construction stopped and testing was
underway to determine if the metal materials were hazardous. While the metal was considered contaminated,
it was not hazardous, which would have had deadly consequences for Círculo’s project.
At the same time, engineers found that the level of gases underground was fluctuating due to a gas plume spill
from Garden City, some fifteen to twenty years earlier. Project engineers, architects and specialists consulted
with Sarah and Gil to plan how best to protect the building and its occupants. Ultimately, a system called liquid
boot, was proposed to wrap the building and protect it against any future potential vapor contamination that
could occur as the plume moved its way from Garden City underground throughout Hempstead. This liquid
boot system costed a significant amount of money. To pay for this system, Círculo had to take money from
other areas of the original building budget. Construction also had to be stopped during this time. Stopping
construction caused many delays.
Círculo faced considerable financial strain during this time as the agency was expected to start repaying the
loan in 2009. Construction delays meant that Círculo could not open the building on time and would not be
able to implement programming that was part of its business plan for paying back the loan. This included an
early childhood learning center, a restaurant and other community programming and activities.
Círculo Food Services
Throughout construction, Círculo continued to develop its plan to create an educational training program in
the area of food services and hospitality. This was important to the agency’s business plan. A separate entity
called Círculo Food Services was created. Different licenses and permits for operation were obtained. The
agency was originally planning to create a restaurant at the Center with a culinary service training program.
However, the viability of this plan diminished as much of the space had to be value engineered from Círculo’s
original facility.
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