Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc

Client:

Trammell Crow Company

Scope Of Work

Park District Offers a Unique Work/Live Experience in an Urban, Park-like Setting

Located in a rapidly growing area of Dallas, Park District provides living and workspace to thousands of individuals adjacent to the popular Klyde Warren Park. Developed by Trammell Crow Company and designed by HKS, Inc., this one-of-a-kind project connects the Arts District, Downtown and Uptown while providing tenants, residents and the public a unique way to experience the city.  

The two-tower development is located on a three-acre parcel at Pearl Street, Olive Street and Klyde Warren Park, and brings a total of 916,000 square feet of space to the city center. This includes 500,000 square feet of office space, 253 apartments and 29,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to office and retail space, Park District features an executive lounge, fitness facility, collaborative workspaces, on-site restaurants, outdoor amenity spaces, on-site banking and valet service. The office tower received LEED Gold certification and the residential tower received a LEED Silver certification.

Top-Down Approach to Meet Tough Schedule

When the client asked Balfour Beatty to cut our already tight schedule even further, we looked for new solutions. The answer was “top-down” construction, which saves time by removing excavation from the critical path, allowing vertical construction to commence months sooner. Balfour Beatty General Superintendent Sam Moses, who had seen top-down successfully utilized on similar projects on the east coast, championed the effort on Park District – making it the first project in the State of Texas to utilize this innovative method. This novel approach was driven by the client’s need to deliver the tower as quickly and safely as possible to accommodate incoming tenant move-in dates and stands as an excellent example of Balfour Beatty’s ability to deliver creative solutions to meet the needs of our clients.

Safety First, Always

The first priority on all of our projects is safety. This twin-tower, high-rise project on a tight site in downtown Dallas already presented considerable safety challenges, and the decision to employ top-down construction techniques increased those challenges exponentially. Constructing the massive columns required workers to assemble prefabricated rebar cages while in 40- to 50-foot deep, 108-inch wide column casings. The team used the mock-ups created in the planning process to simulate the construction process to ensure crews could work safely in the confined space. During installation, the steel column casings prevented cave-ins and extended well above the surface to prevent workers above from falling into the hole. To protect subteranean workers, we utilized a retractable lanyard system for workers to use as they descended into the pier shafts that allowed them to safely climb down the column forms without any risk of falling materials. We also had the appropriate air monitoring systems in place for working in a confined space. Additionally, when basement excavation resumed following installation of the piers, we utilized a proprietary mister and fan system to keep the air safe in the confined space while digging around the oversized piers and columns.

With four cranes on site, the Park District team used an anti-collision system that monitored the exact position of each crane using GPS. While this system is helpful, we also require that all crane operators maintain full responsibility for the position of their crane at all times. We also coordinated with building management staff of adjacent buildings to let them know when the crane might be near their building to alleviate alarm.

Being a Good Neighbor

Working in a busy downtown area with pedestrians and constant traffic often makes site logistics more complicated than a typical jobsite. There are two factors that went into the site logistic planning: Klyde Warren Park and the City of Dallas.

Construction began in the summer, which is one of Dallas’ beloved Klyde Warren Park’s busiest seasons. With thousands of people going to and from the park during the day, right across the street from a busy jobsite, a lot of precautions were necessary to ensure the safety of the surrounding public. This precaution was reinforced with the team on a daily basis. Until the building was enclosed, netting was installed on the entire exterior of the building to protect the public and workers below from falling debris.

The second biggest factor considered was the noise restriction policy times given by the City of Dallas. To mitigate the inconvenience to neighboring businesses, the team instituted a “good neighbor policy,” which included introducing our team to surrounding businesses and diligently communicating with them regarding parking, road closures, and temporary power and gas outages.

Overall the completion of Park District was highly successful. It was a mix of collaboration between the owner, design team, subcontractors, and Balfour Beatty. The project was completed on a tight, downtown sight and the team overcame several obstacles. Based on the success of Park District, Balfour Beatty was hired by the client for subsequent projects.

Park District Awards

Best New Mixed-Use Project Award - D Real Estate Daily, 2016

Best Urban Office Lease - Dallas Business Journal, 2017

Top Construction Starts #15 out of #25 - ENR Texas and Louisiana, 2017

Best Mixed-Use Development - D CEO Magazine, 2017

Distinguished Achievement Award for Best Development - Commercial Property Executive, 2017

Best Mixed-Use Development - Dallas Business Journal, 2017