A “Major League” Team Effort
Work began in January 2018 with a focus on preconstruction, planning and trade partner procurement, leading up to a groundbreaking in October 2018. Lightning Ventures, a Colorado company specializing in all aspects of earthwork and truck hauling, spent the next four months running approximately 9,000 truckloads of dirt out of the ever-growing hole in the ground (amounting to approximately 3.3 million cubic feet of soil, the equivalent of roughly 165,000 tons). Two-stories down into the ground, the garage space accounts for a full city block. Coggins & Sons, another Colorado-based company, then handled the shoring and installed the deep foundations. Approximately 250 piers were drilled 45 feet down
to bedrock.
Concrete Frame Associates (of Colorado) was put to work to build a 350’x350’ concrete podium. Once the podium was in place, the three buildings were ready to go vertical and more team members joined the jobsite. Among the “new players” were three more Colorado companies, M-Tech Mechanical, which is responsible for the mechanical and plumbing systems in all three buildings, Encore Electric, which is installing the power, lighting and low voltage for the buildings and Frontier Fire Protection, which is installing the fire suppression systems that serve all three buildings. In fact, many of the systems are inherent
to all three buildings.
With so much work happening concurrently, each building – the hotel, office and residences – were assigned a different company to construct the concrete structuers. Rago Enterprises, with an office in Denver, handled the hotel, and Hensel Phelps (Colorado) oversaw the residential concrete and Concrete Frame Associate was responsible for the office building. Since each of the buildings has a distinct use and design, it was important to diversify.
As the buildings took form in concrete, the exterior skin elements of framing, sheeting, brick and glazing could be added. Soderberg Masonry (you guessed it, of Colorado) handled much of the brickwork at Coors Field and was the logical choice to do the same at McGregor Square. Two more Colorado companies, Harmon, Alliance Glazing and Metropolitan Glass were selected for their expertise, as were Midwest Drywall and Phase2 (all from, yes, Colorado). Midwest Drywall was responsible for the interior and exterior framing and sheathing of both the hotel and residential buildings, Phase2 did the office building. Metropolitan Glass was in charge of the glazing for the hotel and residences, from the third floor up. Harmon Glass installed all of the unitized curtainwall on the office building and Alliance Glazing was responsible for all of the glass installation on Level 1 and 2 of all three buildings. All three of the buildings have benefitted from the installation of metal panels by Gen3, which keeping-to-the-theme also has a Colorado location.
Working together, the team was able to make any necessary course-corrections without greatly affecting the overall schedule of work or the timing of each individual trade. They have maintained the critical path based on the flexibility of everyone involved.
“It’s great to be part of a project like this,” said Seeman. “We are all working together for a tremendous organization. We know this is an important extension of Coors Field as well as a fabulous addition to LoDo and the Denver skyline, and we all take a great deal of pride in the role we are all playing.”
“Everyone who is working on every single facet of the project can visit it years from now and share with their kids and grandkids that they built McGregor Square,” summed-up Monfort.
Author: Paul Suter, Suter Media Relations
Photos: All photos featured are courtesy of Hensel Phelps
