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Work on the 500,000-sq.-ft., four-story GE Healthcare structure in the Milwaukee County Research Park should be completed in late December.
Construction on the $85 million project began in September 2004.
"We were challenged with getting out of the ground quickly so we could construct the structure last winter," said Greg Morelli, project executive for Milwaukee-based construction manager CG Schmidt.
To meet the deadline, CG Schmidt approached the project with a multiple-phase bid package.
"First, we went out early with precast concrete for the parking structure on a design/build basis," Morelli said. "Structural steel went out early too, to get early procurement."
He said that mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection were all bid as design/build projects, and the contractors that won the bids served as designers of record for those elements.
"This allowed us to bring those five or six major subs on earlier than usual and keep moving with design while the foundation work was going on," Morelli said.
Once the foundations, a straightforward system of spread- and pad-footings, were in place, crews set structural steel and poured the elevated concrete over the winter months.
Morelli said that temporary perimeter enclosures were erected around the concrete placement and the areas were heated from below to achieve correct temperatures for concrete placement. Once poured, the concrete was blanketed for curing.
Included in the project is a 1,250-stall parking structure.
Foresight Pays Off
CG Schmidt and designers from Milwaukee-based architect Eppstein Uhen Architects worked together to expedite construction.
"We worked with the contractor in picking building materials," said John Chapman, design principal for Eppstein Uhen and lead project designer. He cited the building's exterior skin of stone panels as an example.
"Using a panelized limestone system for one of the major exterior components meant a final building enclosure a month ahead of schedule," Morelli said. "That allowed us to get into the build-out sooner that we expected."
The building was enclosed in early June, allowing crews to begin what Morelli referred to as a "sprint to the finish" on the build-outs.
Design Flexibility
The details of the building's ownership and tenant arrangement required design consideration.
Although GE Healthcare will occupy the structure, it will be owned by Edison Technologies Center, a limited-liability corporation set up by Milwaukee-based developer Irgens Development Partners.
Keith Redding, Irgens principal, said that GE will occupy the building on a 15-year lease with the option to renew or terminate the agreement.
"One of our key focuses in a project like this is to always have an exit strategy," Redding said. "We reserve dollars as we go along for future tenant improvements so that there is some money there to retrofit the building should we need to."
He added that the building was designed to be carved up into smaller entities. "The footprint is large, but it is an 'H' shape, with wings and a middle spine," Redding said.
"The bay dimensions, the depth outside to outside, is what matters. We could have done this project for a lot less if we had just made one square block with no interior windows."
But laying out the space in wings and keeping the depth of those wings at about 100 ft. avoided a windowless interior, thus making the space more appealing to future, multiple tenants.
In addition, the structure had to satisfy the needs of its first tenant, GE Healthcare. The company will place employees from three of its business units - GE Medical System Information Technologies, GE Ultrasound and GE Information Management - in the structure.
"GE wanted to make a statement," lead designer Chapman said. "They wanted a look that said they were cutting edge and exemplified their technology."
Softening the 'H' shape with a curved wall and using a good deal of glass on the exterior and four-story open space on the inside, with skylights above them, helped accomplish both GE's goals and brought natural light inside.
Safety First
Safety was a paramount project issue.
"GE's challenge to us was that safety was more important than schedule," Morelli said. "They put the challenge to us at the outset of the project of making sure we have a great safety record."
CG Schmidt entered a site-specific partnership with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Frank Slamar, corporate safety director for CG Schmidt, said the partnerships are an OSHA initiative designed to develop trust between the agency and contractors. He added that although several other companies in the area will be entering into such partnerships, this project was only the second such arrangement in Milwaukee.
The first one was also a CG Schmidt project.
"There are criteria that have to be in the partnership," Slamar said. "You have to have your records audited and you have to have an incident rate 10 percent lower than the national standards."
Superintendents are given 30-hours of training. Foremen and below receive 10 hours. The company must also have a full-time safety person employed by the contractor.
Slamar said that CG Schmidt's incident rate on the project, with 300,000 manhours logged as of September, was 1.38, far better than national average of 6.2 and the Wisconsin rate of 10.1
"This is important work," he added. "What is the value of a human life© It's more important than any building."
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