Through a qualified bid process, North American Properties (NAP) hired the staff at Fulcrum Construction as the general contractor to meet the demanding completion schedule and quality specifications of BJ’s Wholesale Club, a 115,000 sf retail warehouse. The project was the first phase of NAP’s Camp Creek Marketplace, a 700,000 sf plus retail center.

The team had just 19 weeks to deliver the project. A challenging schedule in good conditions was made even more difficult by one of the rainiest fall and winter seasons on record. Through intensive planning, scheduling and continuous communication with subcontractors and the owner, the fast track schedule was achieved.

BJ’s places a premium on having a high-quality slab, both in levelness and appearance. The slab is a key component of its image to its customers, the general public. With this in mind, Fulcrum’s team scheduled the project so that the floor slab was one of the last things completed. Prior to the slab being poured, the roof was on and the lights, ductwork and sprinkler pipes were complete. This plan minimized the possibility that any damage would be done to the slab during construction operations. They used a team approach with engineers, subcontractors, vendors and the tenant to achieve the best quality slab possible.

“On-site in early January 2003, we facilitated a concrete pre-pour meeting that made the difference,” said Darrin Austin, Fulcrum’s vice president. “After taking numerous factors into account, including weather, workability of the concrete and trip time to the batch plant, we made several changes. We decided on a new concrete design, added column box-outs and eliminated the vapor barrier, which resulted in a superb slab.”

“Mike Arasin and Darrin Austin did a magnificent job, managing an extraordinarily demanding schedule on a tight budget and satisfying the demands of our project management staff and our tenant,” said Mark Toro a partner with North American Properties. “They made us look good with BJ’s Wholesale Club and that’s what makes our business go—performance that exceeds expectations.”