Frank L. Ciminelli II, the senior executive vice president of LPCiminelli overseeing work at the project was very familiar with the site. Several members of his family, like so many others in Buffalo, had worked there when Republic Steel ran one of the largest steel factories in the country at the site.

As it happened, the foundation contractor’s father had old drawings of the plans of the steel factory. They turned out to be an invaluable guide for getting a timely start on the project and a good map for the industrial archaeology that was to come.

The brownfield site–one of the largest in New York State–was remediated long before the SolarCity facility was even on the drawing board.

The Republic Steel plant was closed and demolished in 1984. The site was sold to Steelfields Ltd., which did the remediation work and in 2008 sold the site to the city of Buffalo for $4.6-million.

In May 2014 the state bought the 88-acre Area 1 lot for $2.5-million, and in November 2014 bought the remaining 96-acre Area 2 for $2.8-million. The state has not yet determined how it will use Area 2.

Because of Steelfields work, the site had a clean bill of health from the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, but it still needed a lot of work before construction could begin.

Ciminelli’s chief concern at that point was finding the best orientation for the building on the site. At one-third a mile in length, there was not a lot of leeway in how the building could be oriented, but there were concerns about what might be left underground and out of sight that might impede construction.

Using the old plans and overlays from Google maps, LPCiminelli began pre-digging the site. “We wanted to get an early start so that when the gun went off, we’d be ready,” Ciminelli said. “We wanted to get out in front of the trades.”

When the building was demolished, a lot of the old equipment and infrastructure was either buried in the debris or thrown into what was left of the old the foundation.

Among the Republic Steel remains that were unearthed were nearly two tons of old railroad ties, steel ingots, box cars used for transporting raw ore to the factory, and a 15-ft tall turbine. “Every shovel was a new adventure,” Ciminelli said.