Graycor Construction recently completed the Design/Build renovation of Meadowood Mall in Reno, Nevada, managed by Simon Property Group. Simon Property Group, Inc. is a leader in the global retail real estate industry and currently owns or has an interest in 325 retail real estate properties in North America and Asia comprising 241 million square feet. KA Architects was Graycor’s Design/Build partner on this project.
Working in conjunction with KA Architects, Graycor made significant improvements and renovations to the 890,000 square foot mall. Center court improvements included removal of concrete planter walls, ramps, stairs and dated tiered concrete seating, installation of new carpet, ceramic and wood flooring throughout the mall, and installation of glass handrails. The most notable feature of the project was the renovation of the three primary entrances. Demolition of existing entrances made way for large curtain wall/glazing systems with automatic sliding doors, metal panels and lighting enhanced by integrally colored sidewalks and fresh landscaping. Graycor also provided an updated electrical infrastructure for additional retail cart capacity.
Graycor also employed its “Live Environment” project approach from pre-construction/planning through construction. With its vast experience of working on projects in live operating environments, Graycor has developed its own proprietary “Live Environment” project approach that focuses on public safety, minimizes operational disruptions and coordinates with affected stakeholders. In this case, Graycor worked with mall operations to develop a logistics and phasing plan to maintain access to all tenants, and developed a night/day work plan to minimize impact to the mall while economizing cost. Temporary floor transitions and signage & graphics were installed for the convenience and safety of the mall shoppers and employees. Graycor also coordinated with the City of Reno and Simon Property Group to maintain adequate egress for the mall patrons at all times.
According to Brian Feckler, Senior Project Manager for Graycor Construction, “This was a great project to work on. The live operating environment always presents challenges, but we feel our framework provides us with a great deal of flexibility to adapt to the circumstances at hand. The Design/Build project delivery approach in this case also created a highly collaborative environment right from the planning stage which in turn led to reduction in the overall time and cost.” Graycor has also recently completed projects for Simon Property Group at Southridge Mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, University Park Mall in Mishawaka, Indiana and Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, Illinois.