By Cindy Brown, Boulevard Place Food Pantry operations manager and facilities coordinator
Pardon our dust!
The Boulevard Place food pantry’s expansion reached the two-month mark on Sept. 7, with visible work on the outside and the inside. Let’s start with what everybody can see. The rear of the building used to empty into an open space used for temporary parking. Roughly 37-foot-long and two stories high parallels 42nd Street. (The opening is where food delivery trucks will eventually unload.) Paralleling our next-door neighbor, Andrew Ramsey Park, is a roughly 52-foot-long concrete block wall that will be the new back of the pantry. This new section—currently roofless—was erected during July and August.
What’s next:
Demo! We’re getting ready to remove two exterior rear walls that form an L-shape around the walk-in commercial refrigerator and freezer. The space, like most of our corners, is used to stack and store non-perishables. A temporary steel beam will be installed for load-bearing purposes. What you are seeing below was pictured in late August. It’s no longer accessible! On Sept. 9, a carpentry crew installed temporary plywood walls above the freezer, by the current back door, and over what had been the waiting area to protect our packaging areas so that we can continue to serve clients safely. We continue to have a secure area in which to operate our pantry that is not affected by construction. It’s a little more cramped for now, but certainly worth the inconvenience in the long run. We had a change in construction companies and will let you know, when a finish date is on the horizon!
Revisit:
Read the history of our groundbreaking and learn more about the 1,500-square-foot expansion and the several necessary renovations to sewer, electrical and roof as we play a critical role in addressing food insecurity on the north side of Indianapolis.
