July 17, 2014
Bexar County Comal Street Parking Garage
Bexar County Comal Street Parking Garage

BEXAR COUNTY COMAL STREET PARKING GARAGE

 

LOCATION
San Antonio, Texas

SIZE/AREA
6-Story Parking Garage with
approximately 1,000 Parking Spaces
(16,000 sf of storage)

COMPLETED
September 2012

CONTRACT AMOUNT
$14,144,820

OWNER
County of Bexar, Texas

AWARDS
2012 Excellence in Construction
Associated Builders and Contractors
Central Texas Chapter

The new Comal Street Parking Garage is the most recent in a long list of projects Journeyman has undertaken for Bexar County. According to the County Public Works office, Journeyman has completed more construction work for Bexar County in the last 50 years than any other general contractor.

As the project began, it quickly became evident that both Bexar County and Journeyman would have to utilize their years of project experience to make the parking garage a win-win situation for both entities. Contaminated soils on the site had to be manifested before construction could even start and there were several structural design changes. Both issues provided challenges and Journeyman worked closely with Bexar County to ensure the project was not compromised. Daily communication was essential, as well as additional Quality Control staff were brought in to monitor and review erection. The team also worked with the concrete erector subcontractor and the structural engineer to provide an engineering bracing plan for the erection process.

Other challenges presented themselves along the way. As the design process progressed, there were several issues with the design of the garage’s unique roof canopy. Journeyman worked closely with the project’s Engineer of Record and helped provide some redesign solutions.

The 6-story 1,000 space parking garage is made of pre and post-tension concrete and includes a first-story 16,000 sf office and asset seizure storage room for the Bexar County’s Sheriff’s Office. A traffic coating system on the second floor provides a moisture barrier for the 1st floor office space.

All interior parking spaces are equipped with a fire suppression system. Each floor is ADA accessible and is served by two elevators. Structural steel canopy awnings on the 6th floor shade all parking spaces on the top deck. The garage’s security components include approximately 70 Cisco cameras, a traffic booth for a full-time attendant, as well as card readers and parking gates.

Armed Forces Reserve Center
Armed Forces Reserve Center

ARMED  FORCES RESERVE CENTER

 

LOCATION
Lufkin, Texas

SIZE
45,550 sf
19.9 Acres

COMPLETED
August 2011

CONSTRUCTION COST
$14,149,857

OWNER
US Army Engineering District

AWARD
2011 Excellence in Construction
Merit Award
Associated Builders and Contractors
Central Texas Chapter

The project is a one-story steel and masonry training facility designed to support three reserve units with approximately 274 people. The scope of work included an assembly/drill hall, classrooms, mil spec scullery with separate serving and dish drop off lines complete with OMAR/BOMAR items, mail room with postal box, offices, group work areas with modular furniture, break room, SIPRNET Café, complete physical fitness room adjoined by men and women’s locker rooms. The project has included three storage rooms with complete tamper proof cages, two concrete vaults with class 5A vault doors, vehicle maintenance and training bay, wash rack building with steam cleaner, weapon simulator room, 45,000 sf military equipment parking area complete with deterrent fencing and two slide gates, crash rated automatic barrier arm, loading ramps, loading dock and a controlled waste facility on a site with an area of 19.9 acres.

The site designated by the United States Corps of Engineers for the construction of the Armed Forces Reserve Center is unique in that it’s an EPA Certified Wetland with an on-site stream running through the center of the property and a 4’-5’ water table. As a result, preparing the site and structural foundations for the building and pavement sections proved to be distinctly challenging and upon completion of all site activities approximately 132,000 CY of onsite soil had to be excavated and hauled off to accommodate the design and approved site drainage alterations across the 46,550 sf building pad and 103,000 sf of pavement. To overcome any environmental offenses, and ensure full compliance with the State, while upholding the principles of Green Building design, Journeyman filed and received a 404 Permit for the purchase of Functional Capacity Units (FCU’s) from a land bank for the jurisdictional wetlands and to offset the use of this site for construction.

The facility complies with the Anti-terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) requirements for all primary gathering and inhabited building areas. The building is fire-proofed, 100% welded, with frame supports installed for all windows and doors. An intrusion detection system, interior fire alarm, and mass notification system were included and integrated to offer wide range announcement to all personnel within the facility.

This project qualifies for LEED-NC v2.2, built to Silver Standards, however, USACE chose not to pursue certification.

Whole Foods – Montrose
Whole Foods – Montrose

WHOLE FOODS

 

LOCATION
Houston, Texas

SIZE
44,000 sf

COMPLETED
June 2011

CONSTRUCTION COST
$5,403,924

OWNER
Whole Foods Market Southwest

The long-awaited Whole Foods grocery store at the northeast corner of Waugh and West Dallas opened in June of 2011. Nestled amongst several new developments and a very active community, Whole Foods is the perfect addition to this part of Houston. This very pedestrian friendly store has traffic entering from the back of the parking lot allowing cars to easily enter this high-traffic area. Bike racks with 50 slots, as well as a free tire filling station are a few of the amenities encouraging bike traffic.

This vibrant store reflects the neighborhood in many ways, including highlighting local artists and providing extensive local vendor flavor throughout the store. The corner of the store on Waugh facing famous Houston restaurants features an outdoor/indoor style café with garage-type doors that open in good weather, creating a local spot for residents and park-goers to enjoy. Customers also flock to this location because it features the first wine bar for Whole Foods, along with a smoke house offering some of the best BBQ around.

Similar to LEED standards, this project utilized Green Globes Design to help design a building that is energy and resource efficient, achieving operational savings and a healthier place to work. The store itself includes a complete refrigeration system and a tremendous amount of kitchen equipment was installed since the store includes a delicatessen and other food venues, In addition, ceramic tile in many varieties was installed in all of the wet areas from floor to ceiling. The interior includes a polished concrete floor, standard to all Whole Food locations. To allow natural lighting throughout the store, numerous skylights were placed on the roof and shade is provided through many large trees. A rainwater recycling system is in place to be utilized for all landscape irrigation.

Austin Hindu Temple
Austin Hindu Temple

AUSTIN HINDU TEMPLE

 

LOCATION
Austin, Texas

SIZE/AREA
16,000 sf temple
6,000 sf courtyard

COMPLETION DATE
May 2013

CONSTRUCTION COST
$3,059,275

OWNER
Austin Hindu Temple

The Austin Hindu Temple is a 16,000 sf temple with an adjacent 6,000 sf courtyard with concrete tilt wall construction with a steel joist, metal deck and TPO roof. Five towers ranging from 30 to 65 feet tall rise from the temple floor through the roof and were constructed of concentric rows of concrete block. This project required sensitivity to the Hindu religion, extra effort to incorporate hand-crafted materials and had an unmovable completion date driven by Hindu auspicious dates which only occur twice a year. The temple opened on schedule and was commemorated by the 5-day religious ceremony of Kumbhabhishekam.

The entire structure will be receiving very ornate plaster on all the exterior walls and towers. The hand cast designs will greatly enhance the look of the Temple and will be crafted by specialized crews from India who travel all over the world performing similar ornamentation of temples.

This project was constructed in a geographical region containing poor soils which required the removal of 10 feet of onsite material under the building foundation and replacing it with recycled concrete.

5 Fifty-Five Condominiums
5 Fifty-Five Condominiums

5 FIFTY-FIVE CONDOMINIUMS*

 

LOCATION
Austin, Texas

SIZE
98 units
180,000 sf

COMPLETED
September 2006

CONSTRUCTION COST
$16,500,000

OWNER
BDA 555, LTD

 

The 5 Fifty-Five project was logistically challenging, but those challenges led to teamwork, long-reaching partnerships and the sense of a job well done. Proper project management was critical to coordinate material procurement, subcontractor scheduling and crews and maintaining the budget. The construction of the 98-unit condominium project on nine separate floors of the 32-story high rise building occurred within the confines of a fully operational luxury hotel. Because of project staging limitations, all construction material had to be taken up to the individual floors in elevators and distributed to each work area daily. Communication and coordination were both key factors in that successful partnership.

With upward of 175 workers on-site at any given time, safety was always a top priority. The maintenance of clean work spaces, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and coordination of crew work areas was a major component in this project’s safety plan.

Each unit was specified with high-end cabinets, appliances and interior finish materials. Quality workmanship and installation brought these elements together in a stunningly beautiful finished product. As the project progressed, the condos were put on the market, and sold. As closing dates approached and completion deadlines became critical, our team came through time and time again and tenants moved-in on schedule.

 

* The project was completed through our multi-family construction affiliate, All Star Speciality.