category: 11 best building project gc ($70m) -...
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1 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
Category: Best Building Project – General Contractor ($10M - $40M)
Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station
Entry #: 3101
Within the historic Union Station neighborhood downtown, directly beside Denver Union
Station, One Union Station was one of 13 projects under construction in an already heavily
congested area. With extensive planning and excellent communication between the client, East
West partners, and other parties and stakeholders, Kiewit completed the core/shell for the
145,000-square-foot cast-in-place, post-tension, concrete structure and parking garage on time
and on budget.
Kiewit completed the CM/GC services for the core shell office structure, retail space and one
level below grade parking structure. Designed for LEED-Gold certification, this green office
building represents the city's recommitment to its central neighborhood and will be a cornerstone
of the community, anchoring the redevelopment to the vibrant 6th Street Mall and adjacent RTD
Light Rail and bus services.
Solutions of Special Projects
The construction team was faced with the logistical constraints of a heavily congested urban
setting, as well as a building area that extended to within inches of the edges of the property line.
The entire One Union Station project was surrounded by the overall Denver Union Station
Improvement construction boundaries. This tight building area required a proactive and
coordinated day-to-day approach to access the space needed for laydown and material delivery.
Kiewit knew what was in store each day and the team communicated daily activities to
stakeholders, minimizing the impacts to other construction projects, business owners, pedestrians
and events held in downtown Denver.
Building within 2 inches of the property line shared with a historical landmark, carried a unique
set of challenges, including: monitoring for vibrations; making modifications to Union Station’s
2 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
stone foundation; keeping underground work from overstepping the property line; and
coordinating overall project scheduling. The following steps were taken to address these issues:
• Kiewit and the client collectively decided to monitor the existing stone foundation on the
south wing of the Denver Union Station building via vibration monitors in the base of its
structure. Readings were taken twice daily to ensure no movement to the historic building
occurred during the shoring, mass excavation, subgrade structures and drilled pier
operations.
• A portion of the historic stone foundation had to be removed as it encroached into the
shoring system for the new One Union Station building.
• Due to the underground parking structure extending from property line to property line, a
3D survey scan of the support of excavation shoring system was used to verify that the
permanent shotcrete garage walls and waterproofing system did not encroach beyond the
client’s property line.
• The client required interim schedule milestones for certain elements of the core shell to
allow tenant finishes to begin approximately 3 months prior to the scheduled substantial
completion date for the core shell. Near the end of the project, there were six separate
general contractors actively working together in the building. The Kiewit team and the
client/client’s representative made it a priority to be proactive by holding weekly
coordination meetings to ensure work was coordinated and all contractors were aligned
towards the collective completion goals.
Excellence in project execution and management/team approach
The key to the successful and on-time completion of the project was the collaboration between
all involved parties. Coordination was needed between the consultants completing the interior
buildout; other general contractors working in the area including another Kiewit team
constructing the Denver Union Station transit redevelopments; the client and other stakeholders;
and local businesses and end-users. Kiewit made it a priority to foster a good rapport both
personally and professionally with the developer/client, the client’s representative, the architect,
and designers.
3 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
It was important to remain open and transparent with cost and change orders, scheduling issues
and quality concerns. This policy allowed the team to be more flexible and open to the client’s
input, ideas and practices, and facilitate participation to find solutions and mitigate issues before
they affected the project’s schedule.
In direct coordination with the developer, Kiewit took a proactive approach to coordinate traffic
control, street closures, deliveries and general neighborhood concerns. Kiewit initiated ongoing
coordination meetings with other general contractors working in the area to develop plans that
mitigated the collective disruption to the immediate area. Additionally, Kiewit reached out to
neighboring building management groups to address their concerns about building activities and
served as a liaison to direct questions or concerns.
Construction innovations/state-of-the-art advancement
The project team remained focused on ensuring the One Union Station building would achieve
LEED-Gold status. The following elements were key components to obtaining this certification:
• A high-efficiency variable refrigerant flow mechanical system — a type of system new to
Denver. Kiewit held several design charrettes with the mechanical engineer and client,
involving them in the selection of the system manufacturer.
• A roof designed and constructed to act as a detention basin to collect rain water and, in
the event of a large rain event, control the discharge flow in a manner to minimize the
load on the overall Denver wastewater system.
• Exterior walls (behind the brick veneer) installed with a one-step, spray-applied air
barrier and expansive foam insulation product to minimize the potential for air leaks and
create a more efficient insulation cavity at the exterior walls.
• BIM elements were used to help identify potential coordination and constructability
issues with the structure before field work began.
• Due to site limitations and public exposure in a very busy area of downtown the project
team worked with the subcontractors and determined that sharing scaffolding systems
across trades would save the client overall schedule time on the building’s exterior and
allow multiple trades to access the same building elevation simultaneously, consolidating
the sequencing of various tasks.
4 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
Environmental/Safety
“Nobody Gets Hurt” is the guiding principal of Kiewit’s safety program. Through training, work
planning, jobsite inspections, intolerance for disregard of safety rules, planning for pedestrian
traffic and the active engagement of our subcontractors, the project team implemented a site-
specific safety program that instilled confidence that craft workers and subcontractors could do
their jobs on an active urban site both safely and efficiently. Not only was on-site safety
paramount but with the site’s proximity to the city’s stadiums, entertainment districts, and transit
hubs, the team had to stay vigilant on ensuring the safety of the travelling public on one of
downtown’s busiest corners. Notable elements of the site-specific safety plan that set the tone for
excellence in safety, included:
• Monthly safety walks and mass safety meetings by various subcontractors.
• Visible ‘Why I Work Safe’ badges worn as a visual cue and constant reminder that
each and every employee needs to go home safe at night.
• Empowering each craft and subcontractor on-site to foster an attitude where they
looked out for each other on the job.
These efforts resulted in zero lost-time incidents for Kiewit and all subcontractors over the entire
20-month construction duration, with more than 175,000 total manhours (including craft) worked
safe.
Within the community, Kiewit worked to leave as little impact as possible. The team focused on
an aggressive ‘no sediment leaves the site’ mitigation plan for sediment tracking. Throughout the
life of the project, Kiewit did not receive a single complaint regarding tracking sediment onto the
street from its site, appeasing both the community and the Environmental Protection Agency
located across from the site, and the RTD/City and County of Denver who were observing due to
the vast amount of construction around the DUS area.
Excellence in client service and/or contribution to community
Because of Kiewit’s work at One Union Station and at Denver Union Station and the projects’
locations in a typical downtown environment, with limited space, no parking, and plenty of
5 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
pedestrian and safety concerns, the team built a strong relationship within the community
including the client, tenants, local businesses, and with their adjacent (and much larger) Kiewit
project.
The team communicated with the City and County of Denver regarding coordination of its
planned events such as the St. Patrick’s Day parade, various 5Ks, special events, Rockies games,
Great Western Stock Show parade, etc., to ensure that construction activities did not impact city
events.
The inspiring results that came from active collaboration, cooperation and positive relationships
made all the difference in regards to the project being a success and went a long way with the
client. Chris Frampton, the Managing Partner at East West Partners said this about the project:
“The team on the ground at One Union Station is killing it. We simply could not be happier with
their work. The job is, obviously, progressing nicely. That is happening because of the care and
attention paid by [The Kiewit Team]. Everyone is working very well with our team, identifying
issues well in advance, and executing on the plan to complete. We thank you for that. Really.”
6 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
7 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101
8 Contractor: Kiewit
Project Name: One Union Station Entry #: 3101