Showing posts with label Construction Photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Construction Photos. Show all posts

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Unexpected Findings Set Groundwork for New Community in the Brickyard

Construction Uncovers Part of Salt Lake City’s Past

In 2006, Salt Lake City-based developer, The Ritchie Group, purchased the Brickyard Office Tower, a seven-story, 100,000 SF office building located in the historical Brickyard neighborhood of southeast Salt Lake City. In 2011, as the partners were studying some scheduled maintenance to the on site parking garage, a better use for the entire site dawned on them. Already actively engaged in several multifamily site acquisitions, the Ritchie Group determined that the east bench location of the Brickyard area was ideal for multifamily housing.

A commemorative plaque of Interstate Brick Company at the base of the Smith Kiln Chimney at 1178 East Brickyard Road

“We had been looking all over the valley for a good multifamily site,” said Ryan Ritchie, partner at The Ritchie Group. “We had a few irons in the fire but nothing concrete. As we considered the maintenance and repairs required for the parking garage, we realized that a shared use between office and multifamily would be the quintessential home run for a mixed-use development. We were excited to learn that the site was already zoned for high density multifamily and that a mixed-use project was very much in line with what the city wanted to see constructed in the Brickyard area. It was a nice surprise.”

Rendering of Element 31 at Brickyard

“The excavators found remnants of a few foundation walls, kilns, tunnels, and thousands of bricks from the predecessor of Interstate Brick Company, which relocated in the early 1980’s to its current location in the southwest Salt Lake Valley” Ritchie said. “It was pretty interesting to unearth a part of Salt Lake City’s history. We would have loved to preserve some of those kilns but they were literally falling apart with the touch of the track hoe’s shovel. The new project will include about 40,000 new bricks, cooked in the Interstate kilns, to give it a touch of nostalgia.”

Since its days as the largest brick producer in the West, the Brickyard has become one of Salt Lake City’s most active retail and office developments. The new community, Element 31 at Brickyard, will add 208 luxury apartments.

Aerial photo of construction on Element 31 at Brickyard

Rimrock began construction on the project in late 2013 with demolition of the parking structure, and excavators soon discovered even more surprises—thousands of them.

“Our goal for this community is to have our residents feel like they’re living at a resort,” said Ritchie. “The area is already thriving but we felt we could add a little more vibrancy by providing resort-like finishes and amenities that aren’t common in Salt Lake City.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

When complete, Element 31 at Brickyard amenities will include:
  • Rooftop deck with fire pits and grow boxes
  • Fitness center with rooms for cardio, strength training, yoga, and kickboxing and access to over 200 fitness-on-request training videos from a dropdown screen
  • Contemporary, Myrtha-pool and jacuzzi, sundeck, and chaise lounges
  • Clubhouse gaming wall with dual 50-inch screens and consoles and a separate room with a 100-inch screen for movies
  • Ground-level dog park, dog run, and dog washing station
  • Gourmet clubhouse kitchen
  • Clubhouse billiards
  • 100 percent covered parking and security controlled access

When complete, Element 31 at Brickyard finishes will include:
  • Modern plumbing and lighting fixtures
  • Contemporary European box cabinets with stainless steel pulls
  • White and grey granite and quartz countertops
  • Stainless steel appliances

For more information please contact:
Ryan Ritchie at info@element31apts.com
Mark Mathews at mm@rimrock.us

Blighted Medical Office Building Receives "Green" Facelift

Local developer chooses to salvage and reuse, instead of demolish and rebuild.

Millcreek, UT -- July 22, 2013 -- Construction is underway on a familiar office building in the St. Mark’s Hospital district. Sixty-five thousand square feet of rentable office space in the Doxey-Hatch Medical Center located at 1255 East 3900 South in Salt Lake will be demolished. The remaining sixty-eight thousand square feet will be completely renovated, injecting new life into the area landscape.

Rendering of the Blighted Medical Office (Doxie Hatch)

Rockworth Companies, LLC, a Sandy based real estate firm, purchased the building in late 2012 at a time when it was approximately 88 percent vacant.

“Minus the concrete structure, the whole building was obsolete in every way shape and form,” said Chas Johnson, project manager for Rockworth. “We either had to scrape the entire building and start from scratch, or salvage what we could and redesign it. We felt the latter was the most responsible option for the environment and for future tenants.”

Rockworth hired the Richardson Design Partnership and Rimrock Construction to update both operating efficiencies and aesthetic appeal.

“The building offered a great design problem,” said Jeff Byers, principal at the Richardson Design Partnership. “How do you take a utilitarian building with distinct materials and minimal windows, and open it up to have a modern, light-filled space without compromising the building structure? We were able to create a more inviting and open building by using the existing structural frame work, and adding a new envelope with fresh materials and finishes to the exterior face of the existing building.”



Construction of the project will follow a six-month schedule and is estimated to cost approximately $ 4.2 million. By reusing the existing structure, Rockworth is able to keep the cost of construction down which ultimately translates into lower rents for future tenants.

“We are very familiar with the medical community in that part of town and many doctors have updated their offices as much as possible, but at some point there needs to be a massive overhaul,” Johnson said. “We are the first group that is willing to come in, retrofit a building, and provide a completely new interior and exterior which will allow us to keep doctors in their same geographic location, and at rents that are still favorable to them.”

Though annually recognized as one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States, citizens and officials throughout the Salt Lake Valley have raised concerns about the need to not only develop new neighborhoods and commercial areas, but also redevelop existing neighborhoods and areas with strong demographics that suffer from building obsolescence. Pre-leasing continues as crews begin the $4.2 million renovationn on the Doxey-Hatch building in Millcreek. Half of the structure will be demolished and the remaining half will be retrofitted introducing affordable medical office space to medical professionals in the St. Marks Hospital community. Rockworth believes by reinvesting in these areas, the long-term viability of historically relevant neighborhoods will be ensured as well as promote similar reinvestment of surrounding parcels.

"It’s been a real privilege to be a part of the design team on the Doxey-Hatch building," said Justin John, vice president of pre-construction services at Rimrock. "In my experience, developers and builders sometimes get a bad reputation for disrupting a natural setting and animal habitat by building a building with a big parking lot. This building is recycled as much as possible. Rockworth is actually adding more green space. It’s encouraging to see some fresh ideas."

The Doxey-Hatch building, renamed as the Evergreen Office Plaza, is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2014.



ABOUT ROCKWORTH COMPANIES, LLC

Founded in 1996, Rockworth Companies, LLC is a single family, multi-family, retail, and professional office developer throughout the Western United States. Rockworth’s primary focus is on developing housing and office space in underserved markets bearing in mind fiscal and environmental responsibility.

For more information about Rockworth, please visit rockworthco.com

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Aerial Photos of Current Projects

Rimrock recently had aerial photographs taken of a few projects we are building. We are grateful to those who have made these jobs possible as well as all of the projects we have been fortunate to be a part of – past, present, and upcoming.


Click on the photos to enlarge.




Hyatt & Marriott hotels and parking structure - Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah

Dry Creek at East Village - Sandy, Utah

Home 2 Suites - Lehi (Thanksgiving Point), Utah

Sagewood at Daybreak

Element 31 at Brickyard - Salt Lake City, Utah

Holladay Village Center - Holladay, Utah

Evergreen Office Plaza (Doxey Hatch Medical Center) - Millcreek, Utah