Midway Companies taps Hoar Construction for another mixed-use tower in West Houston

HOUSTON, TX, September 27, 2012 – In commercial development, location is everything. That same benefit can present major challenges to construction firms. Located on one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels of CityCentre in west Houston, the CityCentre Four site measures just 176 feet by 221 feet. Beltway 8, the major north/south arterial highway, lies only 60 feet to the west of the building – the access road is just five feet away from the site. The boutique Hotel Sorrella, with a 70% occupancy rate, is 80 feet immediately east of the building. The building aligns with and actually cantilevers over a main vehicular entrance/exit to CityCentre on its south side. And an active construction site is 25 feet north of the building. Midway Companies selected Hoar Construction to tackle the challenge of wedging the sleek new 123,000 sf CityCentre Four mixed-use facility into the tiny pocket of land.

Hoar broke ground on the 6-story CityCentre Four in June. The building is core and shell office on floors two through six, with retail and dining planned for the first floor. It is almost a twin to CityCentre Three, which is immediately to the north and approximately 95% complete, and also being built by Hoar. The design, by Munoz + Albin with Kirksey as production architect, is in keeping with other CityCentre buildings. Munoz + Albin and Kirksey were also the team for CityCentre Three. The façade is glass curtainwall with brick and stone masonry, plus one distinctive feature – the building cantilevers out on floor two and again on floor three on three sides of the building.

The site surroundings, compounded by overhead construction and 24/7/365 activity demands more stringent safety measures. Building materials are often delivered to the site overnight; visitors are separated from the site by 8-foot walls; Hoar will restrict traffic to one lane and alter traffic flow on CityCentre Way.

Despite the challenges, construction should not interrupt operations at CityCentre, one of Midway’s major requirements of Hoar.

“We are confident in Hoar’s attention to detail and safety procedures,” said Shon Link, Vice President of Development for Midway Companies. “CityCentre is such an active location – 500,000 cars pass the site daily – we cannot afford any impact to the tenants. Hoar understands our operating philosophy and has planned the construction accordingly.”

Construction on CityCentre Four is planned to be complete in mid-2013. Hoar is aggressively using Building Information Modeling (BIM) on the construction documents, which shaved over two weeks on CityCentre Three construction to date. Hoar coordinated BIM documents for the full project team and also included cost and work flow schedule into the master model.

“There are so many considerations for CityCentre Four – from site issues to the structural implications of the cantilevered floorplates – that a more robust [BIM] model has been hugely beneficial for the whole project team,” Brian Benefiel, Preconstruction Director for Hoar Construction, said. “The work flow schedule is also imperative, so Midway knows exactly what to expect in terms of delivery vehicles on site and how visitor traffic will be impacted. Keeping the work flow in check is also important for site safety, both for workers and CityCentre visitors.”

Hoar has completed several class A office buildings and tenant build-outs in Houston, including Granite Westchase II (LEED Silver) and the Petrobras America Headquarters. Hoar is building Granite’s newest Westchase office tower, BriarPark Green.