Gary Ard from 5th Avenue Construction pressure washes a concrete wall his business is installing for a materials exchange at a long-time vacant lot near the Ballard Bridge.
A long-time vacant lot west of the Ballard Bridge will be put to use in the near future as a materials exchange site.
The lot, located at 1515 N.W. Leary Way, is being fixed up by 5th Avenue Excavation, a Seattle-area excavation and demolition service.
Gary Ard, with 5th Avenue Excavation, said his company will use the lot to dump dirt, gravel and other materials they excavate, and people will be able to acquire those materials from the lot.
The excavation company is installing a perimeter wall of concrete blocks around the property and will be putting up signs in the near future.
Ard said a challenge right now is figuring out how to keep graffiti off the new wall. It hadn't been up long before it was already tagged. He said he may look at planting ivy and turning it into a green wall.
The lot had been recently used for storage by nearby businesses, but Lee Noble, owner of the lot, told the Ballard News-Tribune in December 2008 that the property hadn't had a tenant in five years.
