Supercharger - College Station, TX - Texas Avenue South

[jwillis84]

I still have not checked out the 175 Century location on the "possible" leaked Tesla future sites yet.

I might do that tomorrow.

I have reviewed all the Building permits for College Station going back to August.. i guess I could look further.. but found nothing.

I'm thinking the location at the HEB Fuel lot is the most likely location to finish first.

It would be absolutely awesome if we had two Supercharger locations in the near future.. but at this progress rate, I would estimate four months to get to this point with the HEB Fuel lot.. if issued a Building permit tomorrow.

So we are probably looking at;

at least Q2 2023 before the 175 Century Square location could come online .. and I think, it would be practically much longer

The reason is Q1 is deep Winter in BCS, and Q2 is the rainy season.. both reluctant outdoor working seasons in Texas.

I mean its "possible" .. but, they wouldn't mind delaying work on something like that.. at those times of the year. And weather is variable.

..

the HEB Fuel lot has additional spaces that "could be converted" but they are disjointed and scattered around.. i don't think they will do that, 8 stalls is probably the maximum for this location.

which is fine.

.. I am hoping that with cross-traffic across the heart of Texas, Tesla will get good data on usage patterns at this location and install more Supercharger locations around town as a transit hub.

The HEB Fuel lot is on the main drag through the heart of town, the Third rail between the By-pass to the North, and the Bio-corridor to the South. It will certainly get used.. but you'll have jump off the Highway to get to it and pass through multiple major intersections in town.

 

[Jmolloy3]

That HEB is about 1 mile from my in-law's house. This is going to make visiting them so much easier. No more awkward bumming of the dryer outlet...

 

[ScottStout]

It just updated to ‘under construction’.

supercharge.info

Zoomable Tesla supercharger map with adjustable range indicator.

supercharge.info

 

[brkaus]

It just updated to ‘under construction’.

supercharge.info

Zoomable Tesla supercharger map with adjustable range indicator.

supercharge.info

Pretty sure that happened when @corywright tagged post 236 helpful, assuming I’ve correctly decoded one of the people behind the magic

Supercharger - College Station, TX - Texas Avenue South

A second thought, is those Leaked locations.. may be very gross.. approximations.. to locations.. like a planning document with (no site visits). Anyone who lives in Bryan College Stations (knows) that is close to the busiest intersection in the Cities.. the traffic flow is highly (Hostile) to...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[jwillis84]

October 21, 2022 12:30 am

Construction Day 3

(1) Outhouse, (2) demolition dumpsters arrived

No sign of actual tool use yet.

I assume the dumpsters are for collecting the pedestal dig tailings from the asphalt, and any debris when they make cuts in the asphalt to run electrical conduits.

In back of the HEB store, they have turned on the Parking Lot lights. I've driven back there many times late at night to avoid traffic in front of the store and they are almost always turned off. The lights are very bright and fully illuminate both sides of the Mobile Mini shipping container, no mysterious car with head lights hiding behind the shipping container anymore.

I didn't even know the light poles were there, its so dark, but they are like 100 ft high so they light up the entire parking lot with no opportunity for shadows.

Also went by the "Leaked" location at 175 Century Square

Cobblestones and all.. its the street that runs next to the UBS bank/financials building, it looks like a very expensive part of town.. again got the New York City, Manhattan downtown vibe to it.

All of the parking spaces are marked "PAID" and there are Paid Parking terminals everywhere.

I couldn't just get out on the street and walk around.

I've seen similar places in downtown Austin, downtown Las Vegas .. it just doesn't look cheap at all.

I suppose if the managers want Tesla Superchargers there as some sort of showcase piece.. its possible.. but someone will be paying a lot of rent.

It is a better location than the older plan to put the Superchargers on campus next to the Bonfire Memorial.. I know that confused a lot of people as to how to get access to them.

It just "feels" odd to put them in such a high end retail area.. not saying its impossible.. and it would be "showy" .. and very convenient to where I live.

Its just not your everyday Bucc'ees or HEB Fuel lot type of area.

I snapped this pic through the front of my windshield driving down the street between the buildings, either side are all the PAID parking spaces.

The dark ominous robot looking thing to the left, is one of the many Paid Parking terminals.

 

[Guacahummus]

Also went by the "Leaked" location at 175 Century Square

Cobblestones and all.. its the street that runs next to the UBS bank/financials building, it looks like a very expensive part of town.. again got the New York City, Manhattan downtown vibe to it.

All of the parking spaces are marked "PAID" and there are Paid Parking terminals everywhere.

I couldn't just get out on the street and walk around.

I've seen similar places in downtown Austin, downtown Las Vegas .. it just doesn't look cheap at all.

I suppose if the managers want Tesla Superchargers there as some sort of showcase piece.. its possible.. but someone will be paying a lot of rent.

It is a better location than the older plan to put the Superchargers on campus next to the Bonfire Memorial.. I know that confused a lot of people as to how to get access to them.

It just "feels" odd to put them in such a high end retail area.. not saying its impossible.. and it would be "showy" .. and very convenient to where I live.

Its just not your everyday Bucc'ees or HEB Fuel lot type of area.

I snapped this pic through the front of my windshield driving down the street between the buildings, either side are all the PAID parking spaces.

The dark ominous robot looking thing to the left, is one of the many Paid Parking terminals.

View attachment 866035

There's a parking lot towards the back where it makes sense to put Superchargers. That lot has no address but is owned by the same entity as 175 Century Square.

I went here and started messing around with their Planning and Development map to find that out:

https://www.cstx.gov/departments___city_hall/it/maps

https://goo.gl/maps/ZfD7LcXsLDX29sfH9

 

[jwillis84]

Geography isn't the problem really.. its just all the paid parking.

Every inch seems to suggest cost recovery.

Even in that area its all marked paid parking spaces.

I have to wonder what would make them give up that revenue for a public good.

Any increase in the number of Superchargers would be a 'win' and this location would be a lot closer to where I live.. so I'm all in.

.. i just have my doubts

 

[brkaus]

Hosting a supercharger isn’t for the public good. It’s for whatever income they get from Tesla & marketing. Imho.

 

[jwillis84]

Friday October 21, 2022 9:30 pm

Construction Day 4

(2) New earth movers arrived, looks like a backhoe and loader (bulldozer) to me

No signs of tool use.

It looks to me like they are still amassing tools before commencing work.

The Mobile Mini in the back of the store might hold smaller precision tools like the asphalt cutters etc..

Rentals aren't cheap, so maybe they could be done with construction by Thanksgiving?

About half the fenced off area behind the dumpsters is still empty.

I imagine for concrete piller making and pouring equipment, maybe as a general work area.

The big cabinets are on the PDF diagram go down at this empty end near the trench already dug in the greenspace and soil.

There is a tiny existing transformer .. I don't know its capacity. I think I have a close up photo of it taken long before all this arrived.

 

[jwillis84]

Looks like I may have exceeded the servers capacity for uploading images.

I have three more pics.

One of the smaller transformer, close up.

But there is a much larger transformer just behind this smaller one, next to the trash corral slightly off to the Left.

Its kind of hidden in the bushes and trees, same green space.

Its easily as tall as me at 5 foot 5 in,

That's a lot more likely where they'll hook up.

In fact I wasn't thinking.. the trench already dug leads right to the back wall of the wooden corral that houses both the trash corral on one side and the large transformer on the other side.

I would guess the tall Tesla cabinets contain all the secondary mains breakers and service panel.. so mostly its cutting the asphalt, laying the conduits and cables.

Then digging out the pedestal holes in the ground for the concrete pours.. that will take a few days curing.

Yeah .. hmm .. Thanksgiving might be optimistic.. maybe by Christmas.

 

[jwillis84]

Tuesday October 25, 2022 9:30 pm

Construction Day 8

Major Progress, but we just had a Bill Paxton, Hellen Hunt level Twister "Hail, Flash Flooding Green Lightning Storm" last night .. so I'm sure they had to stop work today to let it drain out.. or to pump it out.

It looks good however, a Huge new Trench about 7 to 8 ft deep has been dug at the back of the parking spaces, they've started at each end and they're still digging towards the center to join them up.

It looks like I can't post any more pics of the site, so I thought to try posting a walk around video with me jawing off about what I see.. its dark.. maybe I'll keep doing it and figure out how to lighten it up.. or go out there in the day time. But you can still see a lot. I walked around the whole site a couple times.

 

[vlee]

Looks like I may have exceeded the servers capacity for uploading images.

It looks like I can't post any more pics of the site

Mods, is there any way to increase his picture posting privileges?

 

[jwillis84]

Wednesday October 26, 2022 8:30 pm

Construction Day 9

More 3 inch PVC conduit arrived, its barely visible in the first pic in front of the brown cardboard boxes

Mostly I saw they dug out more of the trench, and the dumpsters are now way over flowing with debris

And re-discovered a 6 ft selfie stick and zoom, I was far beyond the barriers.. not intruding at all.

If you watched last nights video, that second "Natural Bridge" arch of concrete (was) the mid-way point

that the back hoe and loader were standing on last night.. now its dug out from both sides and

hollowed out under neath, so there are "Two" Natural Bridges, one at the far end and one mid-way

 

[scottyaggie]

Woohoo, real progress!

 

[AndrewTX]

Wednesday October 26, 2022 8:30 pm

Construction Day 9

More 3 inch PVC conduit arrived, its barely visible in the first pic in front of the brown cardboard boxes

Mostly I saw they dug out more of the trench, and the dumpsters are now way over flowing with debris

And re-discovered a 6 ft selfie stick and zoom, I was far beyond the barriers.. not intruding at all.

If you watched last nights video, that second "Natural Bridge" arch of concrete (was) the mid-way point

that the back hoe and loader were standing on last night.. now its dug out from both sides and

hollowed out under neath, so there are "Two" Natural Bridges, one at the far end and one mid-way

View attachment 868005

View attachment 868006

Thanks for the progress reports!

 

[jwillis84]

Thursday October 27, 2022 10:30 pm

Construction Day 10

We have signs of concrete forms being setup over where the Tesla Power Cabinets will go.

Lots more PVC conduit, and some curved pieces of conduit.

The back hoe and loader appear to be stowed for now, the entire length of the trench is dug, cleaned out and conduit pipes are strewn at the bottom from one of end of the trench to the other.

I'll be traveling for a while, so tomorrow night will probably be the last update until Sunday November 6, 2022

We're expecting rain tomorrow and its sort of the start of the rainy season, which generally lasts 2-3 weeks.

They may get the forms built, and some of the concrete poured before I return.. but they have to prep and fill those electrical conduits first.

So its anyones guess how far they will get before I get back.

 

[jwillis84]

Friday October 28, 2022 11:00 pm

Construction Day 11

Looks like nothing happened today.

It rained, the trench has some water in it and a few conduits look like they got tossed around by the wind.

I took some pics but they really aren't worth posting.

I'll be back on Sunday Nov 6, 2022 and see what progress they've made.

Until then, perhaps someone else will go by there and post something.

Its Ole Miss vs Texas A&M this weekend and the RV parks are full, town has a lot of foot traffic.. even with the storm fronts.

Be careful out there.

 

[tiraffxx]

Friday October 28, 2022 11:00 pm

Construction Day 11

Looks like nothing happened today.

It rained, the trench has some water in it and a few conduits look like they got tossed around by the wind.

I took some pics but they really aren't worth posting.

I'll be back on Sunday Nov 6, 2022 and see what progress they've made.

Until then, perhaps someone else will go by there and post something.

Its Ole Miss vs Texas A&M this weekend and the RV parks are full, town has a lot of foot traffic.. even with the storm fronts.

Be careful out there.

Appreciate ya!

 

[jwillis84]

Monday November 6, 2022 After midnight

Construction Day 21

Went by last night and saw progress, but also a couple problems.

First the first set of four Tesla Superchargers is unboxed, but looks to have fallen against the fence and may have damaged one.

You can click on a picture to see the full size image and make your own assessment.

These were shipped from the Tesla plant in Lathrop, California and took over a month to get here, assuming no backlogs.. lets hope one damaged Supercharger doesn't delay the project. Or that they can patch it up and the damage is more cosmetic than functional.

Next the rainy season has started and we had a major storm system pass over Texas while I was gone.

It more or less predictably flooded the trench, so they will have to pump it out again, hopefully soon since cooler weather and icing conditions could arrive in a couple weeks. From what little I have heard about Concrete pouring and hardening, moisture isn't such a problem as lower temperatures. I'm sort of aware they can change up the chemical mixture and work under a lot of conditions.. but if they could just hurry up they could save themselves a lot of problems.

They have connected a lot of the conduit Lego pieces together and started standing them up in possible positions for charging stalls.

These trench pictures were taken at the same time, in one you can see the flood waters and in the other its hard to see.

They haven't capped the conduits so I'd be a bit concerned water may have got in the assembled conduits.

The capstones of the rear ledge in the second picture are clearly dry and and fake you out , or into thinking the trench is dry.. but thats an optical illusion its actually far higher and next to the ground level retaining wall at the back.

And finally they have extended and dug a whole new trench on the other side of the garbage corral in front of that larger transformer that looked suitable for supplying power to the Tesla cabinets.

.. picture oops could not process image.

 

[jwillis84]

Monday November 10, 2022 Around midnight

Construction Day 25

Looks like I won't be posting any more pictures for a while.. server is rejecting them again.

Sorry to be gone .. i kind of caught covid at a Dallas Truck stop near Ennis.. and felt really bad.. been self isolating. Feeling better now and tip toed out there again tonight to take some more pics. I mean I'm still waay dizzy but can at least stand upright after three days.

In "words"

Some concrete rebar has appeared.

The Lego pieces look assembled, conduit is laid.

The stand pipes which look to carry the electrical lines are covered with plastic bags and stuff.

Some of the caliche soil captured from the dig has been dumped back into the trench to cover some of the conduits.

Overall it looks like they are waiting now on Electricians.

The knocked over Tesla chargers have been hauled around back of cabinets, they look like the same ones.. saw some plastic pieces laying out.. so maybe they were looking at the damage.

I can hazard a guess they plan to install the cabling for the electrical lines in the conduits before finally burying all of the conduits.. and then sealing them with a not near so deep as the trench layer of concrete, to which the Tesla Supercharger will be mounted next too or close too the standpipes where the conduits rise up out of the ground.

But mostly like I said I think they are waiting on the Electricians cause I see no signs of heavy duty cabling or connectors or termination equipment.

Its been five days of relatively beautiful moderate weather.