We’re still planning for completion of the store in early October. The building’s exterior will be finished by early summer, and landscaping and paving will take place throughout the summer. Work on the interior will begin in the spring and continue into the summer, when the store’s fixtures will be installed in the months leading up the opening of the store.

If you drive past East 38th Street and 3rd Avenue South, you’ll notice that the Friendship construction site is really beginning to take shape. About the time the roofing is finished, the underground rough-ins for plumbing and electrical will begin. Once complete, in early May, the concrete floor will be poured.

The exterior of the building will be finished by early summer, and the landscaping and paving will be completed throughout the summer. On the inside, the rough-ins will occur in the spring; the interiors, mechanicals, and finishes will go up in the summer; and the store’s equipment and merchandising fixtures will be installed in the two months leading up the opening of the store.

At this point, we are tentatively planning the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 7.