City: Reston
State: Virginia
Owner:  Comstock Holding Companies Inc.
General Contractor: Davis Construction

BACKGROUND:

In 2021, real estate developer, Comstock Holding Companies Inc.(CHCI). announced ambitious plans for the construction of several projects at the Reston Row District Plaza in Northern Virginia, including a JW Marriot luxury hotel, a condominium tower, office buildings, retail spaces, and parking garages for commuters using the metro station. The development site where all the construction will take place covers a large footprint of 5.5 Acres. The city of Reston has become one of the fastest growing cities in the DC Metro area and is home to numerous technology companies, so it made sense for CHCI to select this area for their new projects.

SCHNABEL’S ROLE:

In April of 2021, Davis Construction, one of the general contractors for the Promenade East Garage project at the Reston Row District Plaza development site contracted Schnabel to design, furnish, and install a temporary excavation support system to facilitate the construction of five-level underground parking garages. Schnabel chose to build a shoring system using a single pass soldier beam installation method to control movements where shoring was required. During the course of the project, Schnabel installed 120,000 SF of sheeting with over 1,000 temporary tiebacks. Furthermore, Schnabel was able to drill 80 feet-deep single-pass soldier beams, which shattered their previous record of 57 feet.

CHALLENGES:

Davis Construction’s incredible effort to bring multiple subcontractors onsite simultaneously to keep up with the project’s aggressive schedule and the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for Schnabel. For instance, the company was challenged to work alongside a concrete subcontractor and several interior building subcontractors working out of the ground. Furthermore, the fast pace of the project required extensive pre-planning with 2-week forecasts for material ordering needs to stay on track with the work. Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic brought serious safety challenges to Schnabel’s labor force along with material escalations and shortages.

CONCLUSION:

In July of 2022, Schnabel successfully installed a temporary excavation support system to facilitate the construction of sub-grade parking garages in the Reston Row District Plaza development site. Extensive pre-planning and safety measures were implemented by Schnabel to overcome the operational and safety challenges that were presented to the company. The project was completed safely, on budget and to the client’s content. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the project.