The monument for the Schuylkill County Courthouse Commons is complete, has arrived at Heim Construction Co., Pottsville, and is ready to be installed.
The Schuylkill County commissioners, members of the Bicentennial Courthouse Commons Fundraising Committee and Gary Bender, co-chairman of the Bicentennial Committee, visited Heim Construction on Monday to observe the recently completed granite monument.
Heim Construction is completing the construction of the project.
"It's going to be installed as soon as the first break of good weather in the spring," Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess said.
Dennis Frye, project manager at Heim Construction, said that the monument weighs 9,275 pounds.
"That is awesome," Commissioner George Halcovage said.
The Courthouse Commons will be a public garden in a triangular grassy area in front of the county courthouse along Laurel Boulevard.
The first phase of the project, which cost about $200,000, includes an area 24 feet by 24 feet with the granite monument that stands about 8 feet tall on the north wall of the square.
The monument is 10 feet wide and 5 feet tall and will sit on a base 2 feet, 8 inches tall.
On the monument is a county map in the center along with the names of all the municipalities.
The square will be surrounded by 18-inch walls made of granite that doubles as benches. Fourteen of these benches will be scattered throughout the complex. In the middle of the square, there will be six blocks of recessed slabs that will contain 768 bricks. The pavers, benches and bricks will be engraved with the names or messages of those who purchased them prior to completion.
Yongcheol Kim is the project architect.
The second and third phases of the project will expand it, but they will wait until the resources become available. Overall cost of the project was originally set at $400,000.