The Associated Builders & Contractors of the Carolinas recognized the NASCAR Hall of Fame as the 2010 GC Project of the Year, a joint venture of Turner Construction Company, BE&K Building Group and the Walter B. Davis Company. The Charlotte-based project was selected from eight finalists at the Ninth Annual ABC of the Carolinas Excellence in Construction Awards Banquet held at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro.
The Turner/BEK/Davis team, acting as construction managers at risk, coordinated not just the work of thousands of on-site workers, but also the efforts of five different architects; representatives from two government entities, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (which operates the hall), and NASCAR; exhibit designers and consultants; and 55 specialty contractors. Nearly $30 million – about 17% of the project – was subcontracted out to small businesses.
And it wasn’t just the 150,000-square foot museum they oversaw. The $195-million project also included a new 40,000-square-foot ballroom (that seats 4,200) for the adjoining Charlotte Convention Center, a broadcast studio for NASCAR Digital Media and a 1,000-space parking deck.
“This was the most complicated project the City has ever worked on with so many different moving parts,” says William Haas, interim division manager of special projects for the City of Charlotte, the hall’s owner. “Turner/BE&K/Davis brought experienced staff. Their superintendents knew how to build big complicated projects, and their engineers were well-versed in electrical and mechanical systems.”
The exterior skin is a sloping oval that mimics a race track. Inside, Glory Road is a 0-33 degree banked ramp leading to the second floor. “Every piece of steel had to be custom-made to fit its specific space, and every beam had to be individually sized and made,” Haas says.
Adds Todd Joyce, project executive for the joint venture, “Many hours of engineering work and modeling went into that exterior skin.”
Ground was broken in January 2007, and there was no flexibility in the May 11, 2010 grand opening date. “Every decision made was based on that end date,” Joyce recalls. “That date could not be compromised.”
Yet safety and quality were not compromised either. More than 1 million man-hours were worked without an incident. Click here for a list of 2010 EIC award finalist.