Some might consider August to be the “dog days of summer,” but last month was a busy time for us at Mill District.

First came the demolition: Our crews used excavators and backhoes to tear down the Garden Inn, the old boarding house and restaurant that faced the Singletree Café across Healdsburg Avenue. We also razed the former Nu Forest office, which sat on the same stretch of Healdsburg Avenue, closer to the roundabout. As we removed these buildings, we were careful not to bother the large redwood trees that rise from the middle of our site. These will become a natural perimeter of our neighborhood park.

After demolition, we staked and spray-painted where the new roads will go. Finally, we worked to clean up the site, leaving the large industrial towers but removing other metal structures from the site’s former life as a lumber mill. “We’re really trying to leave as much of the historical items as we can, as a reference point and a backdrop,” says Jim Hall, director of design and construction.

In the months ahead, we will continue to ready the site for additional work and do more clean-up. The next big push will be sometime in mid-October, when we begin to transition the parcel for the next phase of development. Stay tuned!