42
ACT
NOVEMBER 2013
T
ower cranes that shadow rising
commercial and mixed-use high-
rise buildings are certainly not
unusual on city skylines. What is a fresh
new sight is the use of tower cranes in the
construction of smaller-scale, multi-family
residential projects. This application, as it
turns out, is ideal for tower cranes.
Whether for construction of unique
single-family homes in hard-to-reach
areas or for multi-family condos and
apartments, there are many advantages
to using tower cranes on residential
projects. These include the ability to
handle all lifts for an entire project from
one fixed location, the elimination of large
projects mean tight sites where there
is little lay-down room near the street.
In each case, the crane was erected in a
central area where the jib can cover the
entire site. From a single point, crews can
safely and efficiently perform every task
from bucketing concrete to moving pallets
and lifting materials into place.
The first of the three projects in
progress is Gateway West in Charlotte,
NC. The 280-unit luxury, mixed-use
development, comprises a five level wood-
frame building sitting on two levels of
underground parking and concrete that is
15-feet above grade. The 3-acre structure
occupies a 3.03 parcel.
“There is actually no room to maneuver
whatsoever,” says Bob Nelson, Gateway
West site superintendent. “Special care
was given to crane placement and how
it would be dismantled upon project
completion. Putting it up was the easy
part. Removing it from the middle of
the development involved considerable
planning up front. I can’t say enough about
the Linden Comansa crane and the service
we received from Heede Southeast.”
On another extremely congested site
with no space on its perimeter, the 131
Ponce Midtown Apartments in Atlanta,
GA is another luxury complex with 280
units on six levels above the podium. The
Linden Comansa 21 LC 290, with 196
foot reach, chosen for this site was located
in the center of the building, providing
coverage for the complete project.
The Music Row-area development at
1505 Demonbreun in Nashville features
209 units in a five-level wood-frame
construction atop two levels of parking.
Tower cranes have
become a ‘go to’ lifting
option on multi-family
residential projects.
Located at the center of the building, a
Linden Comansa 21 LC 290 was an ideal
lifting solution for the “bricks and sticks”
building style at the 131 Ponce Midtown
Apartments in Atlanta.
The Gateway Site Logistics Plan shows
how the tower crane can provide lifting
services to every area of the project.
Efficient
lay-down areas and on-site
roadways to position and
place supplies and materials,
less construction traffic and
noise, and a high degree of safety.
With building permits up 19 percent
from August 2012 to August 2013,
statistics by the National Association
of Homebuilders (NAHB) indicate that
construction of multi-family developments
continues to grow. In cities across the
United States, contractors and developers
are embracing tower cranes as an efficient,
safe and economical way to build these
developments in highly space-restrictive
downtown locations. One contractor
on the leading edge of this movement is
Balfour Beatty Construction.
Lifting solution
“The demand for low-rise, luxury
apartments and mixed-use space is
there and we have embarked on several
exciting multi-family projects across the
Southeast,” says Christopher Herman,
vice president, multi-family housing for
Balfour Beatty Construction. “Three of
our current projects include Gateway West
in Charlotte, North Carolina, 131 Ponce
Midtown Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia
and 1505 Demonbreun in Nashville,
Tennessee.”
The downtown locations of these three
SITE REPORT
LIFTING
