Construction on the new Alice B. Tawes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has reached the point where the four-story structure has taken on a decidedly distinctive look.
Sometimes, when weather conditions are right on Cork Point, that look is "distinctive X 2."
Mid-March 2010 remains the target date for completion, according to senior construction managers who provide routine progress reports to McCready Foundation administrators. 
Once the new building is completed and cleared for occupancy, nursing home residents will relocate from the existing one-story structure, which will be torn down.
The new nursing home will have 76 "skilled-nursing" beds available for long-term residents including rooms set aside for transitional patients who need extended rehabilitation therapy. The top floor will offer an Assisted Living option for another 30 residents.
To make way for construction, the current nursing home’s “B” wing was demolished. Residents of that wing are living temporarily on the second floor of McCready Memorial Hospital. The Tawes nursing home opened in 1968.
Regular visitors to McCready on scenic Cork Point have seen the four-story replacement go through a kaleidoscopic progression of appearances. First it was yellow, then blue, followed by white and an earth-tone gray – all in preparation for a replica brick-and-stucco exterior.
Before windows were installed, McCready Foundation board members and administrators took a “back-stage” peek of the building’s interior, where they got a preview of the spectacular views of surrounding marshes and tidal tributaries.
One construction manager serving as a guide described the sight of various species of shorebirds he's spotted while working on the project, including ospreys and pelicans that occasionally snatch fish from Daughtery’s Creek.
Those responsible for conceiving and building the new nursing home -- and handful of invited guests -- gathered in the current nursing home's dining room for a late-afternoon ceremony in mid-July to reflect on the much-anticipated project.
After a few speeches, guests sampled fruit, cheeses and cookies and signed a special scroll that McCready leaders hope to incorporate in a future dedication ceremony.
Here are some facts about the construction project – so far:
- An estimated 2,500 cubic yards of soil raised the ground level nearly five feet
- 193 concrete pilings – buried 45 into the soil – form the subterranean foundation
- The new structure rises 60 feet above ground level
- An estimated 283 tons of steel was used to build the frame
- The new building's foundation is 44 inches from the old nursing home in some places
- A 20,000-gallon double-wall steel fuel tank lies 16 feet under ground
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Installation of that tank was no small feat considering the area’s soil conditions and high ground-water level. The tank site was “dewatered,” a process that took several weeks and utilized temporary well points around the perimeter of the excavation to extract groundwater.
Construction began shortly after hospital and civic leaders participated in a festive ground-breaking ceremony
in October 2008.
Space around the construction site is tight -- and dangerous -- to casual visitors. McCready officials urge those curious about the project to watch this Web site for construction progress reports.
The projected view from Byrd Road. The old nursing home will be demolished.
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