Victory Parking Renovation

Buildings Consulting Group, Inc. received a Grand Award for "Engineering Excellence" from the Minnesota Consulting Engineers' Council, and was selected as one of the "Seven Wonders of Engineering" by the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers. The project was also awarded by the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) in 1998. Buildings Consulting Group, Inc. was recognized by our fellow professionals for our innovative design of repairs to the Victory Parking Ramp in St. Paul. The following description of the project explains how Buildings Consulting Group, Inc. saved clients' money, without closing the parking ramp.

The Problem
Upon investigation of the 40+ year old Victory Parking Ramp, Buildings Consulting Group, Inc. discovered severe deterioration on the second and third parking levels. Our engineering study found many corroded embedded reinforcing bars in the floor slabs. Many of the reinforcing bars had corroded so extensively that only pencil-thin remnants were left.

Located immediately below Level 2 were a restaurant, retail shop, and office spaces. Conventional repair methods would require temporarily closing these areas.

 Victory Parking Ramp. Click for Larger Image
 
"...a conventional approach would have put the parking facility out of business."
  -Randy Geller, Victory Parking

 

 

The Solution

Buildings Consulting Group, Inc. designed an innovative repair to keep all of the occupied spaces below the repair areas and the entire parking facility open for business. By installing a hanger rod shoring system to systematically replace the top half of the 12" to 14" thick concrete slabs, we were able to hang the repair floor from the floor above, and prevent any major disruption and inconvenience to about 1,800 people in downtown, St. Paul.

Cost Effective Decision
The repairs were completed within the original schedule of 12 months and under budget, at a final cost of about $1,600,000; a savings of about $2,000,000 from the cost of a "conventional" repair scheme. Many un-calculated losses, such as long term tenants and inconvenience to displaced parkers were avoided.

 

 

 

 

A Temporary Hanger System For Parking Garage Repair