New pile driving method to start at The Levinson

Pile driving, which caused suspension of work at the site of the new Levinson mixed use development in downtown Noblesville, will resume next week with a different method of installing support for the foundation of the new building.

Last month the pile driving was called off because vibration caused concerns about safety in buildings surrounding the construction site on Maple Avenue between 8th and 9th streets.

Some work has continued in recent days, but new equipment will be brought in next week to allow a method called “pile and lagging” to get underway. It will “eliminate much if not all the vibration” experienced by the former pile driving method, according to the Noblesville city public affairs office.

Additional costs involved will be absorbed by Hagerman Construction, the general contractor on the project, according to city spokesmen.

The Levinson should be completed by the end of next year. It will have two levels of underground parking including public parking, commercial space on the street level and apartments on the four upper floors. It is the first major downtown redevelopment in Noblesville. Rebar Development is owner of the building, with the city of Noblesville cooperating to provide the public parking space.

The project is named for the prominent Levinson family, which at one time owned the site. Through the past century or more the family contributed greatly to the community, providing funds the former high school gym, the Masonic Lodge, the Forest Park golf course and the ongoing Levinson scholarships given annually to two Noblesville High School graduating seniors.